Wendy Williams has retained high-profile attorney Joe Tacopina as her personal lawyer to fight to end her court-ordered guardianship.
Tacopina is known for representing notable figures, including A$AP Rocky during his gun assault trial last February and Meek Mill in his epic probation battle.
In an interview with TMZ on April 3, the lawyer confirmed that he is actively working to gain entry into the legal proceedings overseeing Williams’ guardianship.
Tacopina emphasized that his primary goal is to secure Williams’ release from the New York facility where she has been confined.
He described her current living conditions as inappropriate for her mental state, stating that she is not incapacitated and does not belong in an institution designed for individuals who are unable to care for themselves.
“She’s in a ward where people don’t know their names, where people don’t know between a red light and a green light,” Tacopina said. “I mean, she’s in a place where people are a danger to themselves. She’s not. She can’t leave there on her own to go get a cup of coffee.”
Joe Tacopina, most recently known as ‘ASAP Joe’, joins Wendy Williams’ legal team as her personal attorney in her fight to be freed from her guardianship
🎥: @TMZ https://t.co/mijxcyp4NH pic.twitter.com/K8szkY0hzW
— Glock Topickz (@Glock_Topickz) April 3, 2025
While Tacopina has been retained as Williams’ personal attorney, he has yet to officially enter the guardianship case due to legal barriers.
“The judge has to approve any lawyer coming into the guardianship,” he explained, noting that this is an obstacle he is prepared to challenge.
Tacopina has already begun filing motions to gain access to the case, with additional legal options and higher courts available should his entry be denied.
“There’s a process in play,” he said. “If the judge, for some reason, doesn’t allow us into the guardianship matter as Wendy’s counsel of choice, which almost sounds ridiculous, but they could try and argue that she doesn’t have the wherewithal or the abilities to pick her own counsel, which is obviously silly. But if they did, we’d take an interlocutory appeal, or we could go as far as doing something called an Article 78, which is actually suing the judge in a Supreme Court in New York State.”
Tacopina stressed the situation’s urgency, asserting that Williams is being unjustly held in a facility where she does not belong.
He refuted claims that she suffers from Frontotemporal dementia, attributing past concerns about her health to struggles with alcoholism, which he says she has since overcome.
He also highlighted that Wendy Williams has performed well on medical evaluations, further supporting his argument that she does not need a guardian.
This legal battle comes amid a rising social media movement advocating for Williams’ freedom.
Fans have launched a #FreeWendy campaign, which has gained traction across social media platforms, calling for the termination of her guardianship.
The campaign has mobilized protests in both New York and Los Angeles, with supporters demanding an end to what they describe as her unjust confinement.
Protests occurred on April 1 outside Coterie Hudson Yards in New York and at Williams’ Hollywood Walk of Fame star in Los Angeles. Organizers claim that Williams plans to show support for the movement from inside her assisted living facility.
The push for Williams’ independence has also been echoed by her family, who have openly criticized the guardianship. They have launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $50,000 to cover legal expenses and support her fight for autonomy.
Wendy Williams, who has been under guardianship since 2022, has consistently maintained that she is mentally sound and should be allowed to manage her own affairs.
Tacopina’s involvement marks a significant shift in her legal strategy as she intensifies her fight to regain control over her life.
“The bottom line is, she needs to get out of there, and sooner rather than later,” Joe Tacopina stated. “Every day she spends there is a travesty of justice.”
