Wendy Williams Faces Backlash After Appearing to Make Light of Amie Harwick’s Death

From Zach Seemayer of Entertainment Tonight


Just days after tearfully apologizing for making comments about the LGBTQ+ community, Wendy Williams is facing criticism for appearing to make insensitive remarks about the death of Amie Harwick.

On Monday -- two days after Harwick apparently fell to her death from her third-story apartment's balcony after being attacked -- Williams cracked a joke about her murder.

Williams' addressed the incident on her show, and reminded fans that Harwick -- a model turned therapist working in Hollywood -- had once been engaged to The Price Is Right host Drew Carey.

"She was killed. Not by Drew," Williams said, after explaining how she'd been "pushed from a third floor balcony."

Williams then paused at the sound of people's gasps and decided to evoke the famous The Price Is Right catchphrase, quipping, "Come on down!" After which, Williams tilted her head up and then looked down to the floor, as if miming watching someone fall.

The joke was met largely by groans and silence from the audience, and Williams quickly moved on to talking more about Harwick -- whom she incorrectly called "Hardwick" -- before talking about the recent death of voice actor Jason Davis, who she incorrectly referred to as "Jason David."

Harwick died on Saturday reportedly from injuries sustained from the fall. Police had been called to the residence by Harwick's roommate, who told authorities she was being assaulted in the apartment, CBS Los Angeles reports.

Gareth Pursehouse, Harwick's 41-year-old former boyfriend, has been arrested by police in connection with her death. He is being held on $2 million bail. Police found evidence of a struggle at Harwick's home, and she had previously taken out a temporary restraining order against Pursehouse, which had recently expired.

In response to her remarks about Harwick's murder, many viewers quickly took to Twitter to slam Williams for her behavior.

Many also called for Williams to be terminated, citing multiple controversial comments and remarks she's made in recent memory.

This backlash comes on the heels of Williams' comments last week when she began talking about celebrating Galentine's Day -- an unofficial holiday where women celebrate each other -- and took note of the men in the audience who were clapping.

"If you’re a man and you’re clapping, you’re not even a part of this," Williams said. "You don’t understand the rules of the day. It’s women going out and getting saucy and then going home. You’re not a part."

"I don’t care if you’re gay. You don’t get a [menstruation] every 28 days. You can do a lot that we do, but I get offended by the idea that we go through something you will never go through," she said before she stirred the pot. "And stop wearing our skirts and our heels. Just saying, girls, what do we have for ourselves?... Lookie here now, gay men, you’ll never be the women that we are. No matter how gay."

On Valentine's Day, Williams took to Instagram to apologize.

"I'll start by saying, I apologize. I did not mean to offend my LGBTQ+ community on yesterday's show," she shared, adding, "One thing I can tell you right now is I never do the show in a place of malice… And I didn't mean to hurt anybody's feelings. I'm just having a conversation."