Wendy Williams Reveals Graves’ Disease Diagnosis

On Wednesday, Wendy Williams announced that she's taking a break from “The Wendy Williams Show" on doctor's orders.

Williams told her audience that she's been diagnosed with Graves' disease, an autoimmune disorder that affects the thyroid. She added, “Graves' disease squeezes the muscles behind the eyeballs,” causing her to twitch.

On Tuesday, Wendy visited a doctor, who prescribed her “three weeks of vacation.” She quipped about the request, “'What? Who are you?' I was pissed.”

The 53-year-old joked, “I'll be back in two. I'm not an heiress — who is going to pay my bills? Are you serious? I'm just saying, I come from working class.”

A show rep revealed that reruns will air during the three-week hiatus. The rep said in a statement to People magazine, “Wendy is a true champion and has never missed a day of work. But her health and well-being must be put before all else. Wendy has been openly dealing with her Graves' disease for many years in addition to hyperthyroidism. Yesterday, Wendy's doctor prescribed a necessary three weeks of rest to get her levels and medication in sync. The show will be in repeats during this unplanned hiatus. A live show was produced today so that Wendy could speak directly to her fans and explain her condition.”

Last week, Williams was forced to cancel a few shows due to “flu-ish” symptoms. She elaborated, “I do go to the doctors today to find out what exactly it is. I feel awful. I had to be talked out of going to work today and taking off a few days to get myself together.”

In October, Williams collapsed during a live taping of “The Wendy Williams Show.” After the scary incident, Wendy told “Extra's” AJ Calloway, “Fainting is something that happens to people. Best place to faint probably is on national TV, 'cause all my doctors called — I didn't have to call them — and kept late hours and worked around my schedule. I did not have any pain when I got up. I was waiting three days… I don't have a lump on my head, no headache, and I'm fine.”