Wendy Williams Once Shared the Job She Would’ve Taken if Her Dream Radio Career Was Crushed
Wendy Williams made millions off of her career as a radio personality and later as a talkshow host. But she also had a very distant plan B if her plan A didn’t work out. However, she admitted that her plan B wasn’t a career she would’ve liked to pursue.
What Wendy Williams would’ve done if it wasn’t for radio
Williams had her sights set on being a radio personality since she was a kid. Speaking with Refinery29, the talk show host once revisited her humble beginnings, touching on what it took for her to succeed growing up.
“Being a newscaster or radio personality was something I had wanted since sixth grade. I grew up in Jersey with New York media, and I was very influenced by the radio and people doing the news. And, as far as my parents, I knew they weren’t going to be able to help me at all. We didn’t know newscasters or DJs; there were no telephone calls to make or nepotism that was going to happen to me. So, I had to block out their voices and just go for it,” she said.
Williams would hone her radio personality and build up experience being a disc jockey at her Boston college Northeastern University. She earned a job doing radio just two weeks after graduating from the university, and had been a constant voice in media for years. Because of her backstory and accomplishments, Williams has served as inspiration for women everywhere. Her advice to her admirers was simply to be as resilient as she was when pursuing her dream. But at the same time, Williams also gave her fans a sobering reminder that not everyone could be like her. In that case, having a backup plan was crucial.
“You can’t listen to what your friends or your siblings say; you have to listen to yourself. But, always have a plan B. I’m not a dream killer; I’m a realist. Everybody can’t be a pop star. The church is filled with girls who can sing better than Mariah Carey, but Mariah is the one who grabbed the brass ring,” she said.
However, Williams also admitted that her own advice wouldn’t have necessarily worked on her. Williams’ plan B would’ve been a far cry away from her lucrative television and radio career.
“The advice I give now is different from the advice I took myself. If my dream of being on the radio had been crushed, I would have just been so crushed that I would have been a schoolteacher or something — just to pay my bills. But, the advice I give now is to find something that, even if it’s your second choice, it’s not going to suck for you to wake up and go to work every day,” she said. “But, I didn’t even have a chance to get a plan B. There was never a time in my life where I said, ‘God, this isn’t working out. What am I going to do?’ I was only unemployed in my career for two weeks in my life. Over 20 years, just two weeks.”
Wendy Williams reassured that she didn’t change when she jumped from radio to television
Williams not only achieved her dream, but exceeded them. For several years, she hosted her own radio show, The Wendy Williams Experience, from 2001 to 2009. Afterward, she transitioned into doing her own talkshow, which was a megahit that aired on Fox from 2008 to 2022. During that time, Williams successfully transitioned her radio personality to an on-air format. After the show’s monumental success, however, Williams asserted that she hadn’t changed all that much from her radio hosting days. She even felt she influenced other radio personalities.
“I haven’t changed. I consider myself the original. I’ve been doing this for years and been vilified. Now everybody’s doing it,” she once told The New York Times.
However, although Williams stood by her controversial behavior on her old radio show, she did eventually note she was gentler than she used to be.
“All I can say is that I regret nothing,” she said. “Some of the things that I’ve said might have stung. I sleep comfortably at night. I wasn’t coming from a bad place. I am a kinder Wendy now because I’m on TV. If I were on the radio I would still be just as reckless. I’m on main TV, not cable. I have a staff. I’m responsible for over 100 people. And David, believe it or not, they actually like me. Regret, I can’t.”
