Wendy Williams has built her reputation as a long-time talk show host and entertainment news provocateur, making her world renown for her career in these roles. However, in the dynamic world of entertainment journalism, Wendy Williams has kept her finger on the pulse of many of pop culture's greatest genres, including hip hop. The fearless entertainment journalist has long been a force to be reckoned with, known for her unabashed opinions and brash approach to discussing celebrity gossip on air. Among the many targets of her candid commentary, several rappers have found themselves in the crosshairs of Wendy Williams' unfiltered ire.
The prolific talk show host's rap beefs date back to the 1990s, with a long history of heated conflicts with notable music figures. From fiery on-air exchanges to social media spats, each episode serves as a riveting chapter in the ongoing saga of Wendy Williams' intriguing relationship with the hip-hop community. Here are 7 instances of Williams' greatest rap feuds.
7. Diddy
Wendy Williams has sparked beef with a constant stream of media figures throughout her decades-long career. One recurring theme the host just can't seem to let go of is her constant and seemingly random accusations that rappers are secretly homosexual. One such recipient of these claims is Sean Combs, AKA Diddy.
Back in 1998, while she was hosting a HOT 97 radio show, Williams launched a tirade about how the Bad Boy co-founder was secretly gay, and actively paying millions of dollars in hush money to media outlets to keep this secret under wraps. Obviously, what celebrities do with other consenting adults is of no business to anyone but themselves or their partners, but it bears reminding that there has never been any evidence to back up these bizarre claims, to begin with.
At the time, as one of the world's biggest names in rap, Diddy wielded significant influence over the entertainment news media. He utilized his power to temporarily remove Wendy Williams from the air. While the move may have benefitted Diddy in the short term, it seemed to confirm to some conspiracy-minded individuals that Williams had struck a nerve, leading to these rumors persisting to this day.
6. Tupac Shakur
Wendy Williams wasn't content to keep her ire on one side of the East Coast-West Coast divide, either, as she had already been embroiled in a feud with Tupac in 1995. Like the beef with Diddy, Williams's back-and-forth with Shakur began over unsubstantiated claims of the rappers' sexual activity. Williams took to the air to suggest that Tupac had been sexually assaulted by fellow prisoners while serving a sentence in Clinton Correctional Facility. This unsubstantiated rumor sparked a diplomatic response from Tupac's media team, who released a statement referencing the host's history of making unfounded controversial remarks.
Tupac Shakur personally responded with considerably less diplomacy, mentioning Wendy Williams on the track "Why U Turn On Me?" The lyrics, which reference Williams and her role in spreading the rumor, contain profanity and borderline threats. This underscores once again Tupac's unparalleled prowess in the realm of verbal warfare.
5. Will Smith
Long before Will Smith was slapping his wife's name out of Chris Rock's mouth, the rapper-turned-actor found himself feuding with Wendy Williams on wax. Apparently, Williams had offered one too many deep dives into Will Smith's personal life, including releasing photos and commentary about Smith's daughter without his consent. This prompted the Fresh Prince to clap back on the song "Mr. Nice Guy."
In the song, Smith raps "Wendy Williams, you don't know me. I'm not your punchin' bag, you gon' blow me off, girl. Better leave me alone, before I buy your radio station and send you home." While the 2005 track was decidedly less vulgar than the Tupac Shakur track which preceded it a decade earlier, it still got the message across that Will Smith wouldn't take criticism of his family lying down.
4. Lil Kim
Like many of the rappers on this list, Lil Kim's beef with Wendy Williams was sparked when Williams took to the entertainment news desk to spread hot Hollywood gossip. In this instance, Williams prodded Lil Kim for getting a number of cosmetic surgeries done on her face and neck, spending whole segments of her show bullying the "Crush On You" rapper for her looks. Kim responded with a flurry of angry tweets, calling Wendy a "hating b***h" and accusing her of trying and failing to secure a romantic relationship with the late Notorious B.I.G. back in the '90s.
3. Master P
Despite Wendy Williams's penchant for publicizing people's problems, some media figures were still gullible enough to confide in the entertainment news host as a friend. One such example is Master P, who privately discussed his estranged relationship with his family with Williams in 2014. Later that year, Williams publicized details of P's private life, including personal details about his wife and children, even claiming that "the family could do better" than having Master P as a patriarch.
Master P responded with a sorrowful lament of his misguided relationship with Williams, stating, "First of all, I thought Wendy Williams was my friend. I understand that her job is to entertain gossip but how could she keep picking up TMZ gossip as if it was real news when she should have contacted me directly if she was really concerned about my family, or me like she claims. If anyone understands being in the media and having to deal with celebrity personal family gossip and betrayal, she should know because of her own situation. If she wants to know the truth, as my friend, she should call me directly to get the facts and the truth rather than joining the media circus and talking trash."
2. Method Man
In 2006 Wendy Williams sparked one of her most pathetic and invasive feuds ever, by revealing to the public on her WBLS radio show that Method Man's wife, Tamika Smith had been diagnosed with cancer. While it's unclear exactly where she heard this information, Method Man made it clear that he and his wife wanted that information to remain private as they navigated the difficult process of seeking treatment. In subsequent interviews, Method Man has spoken about how disrespected he and Tamika felt by Williams's on-air discussion of the diagnosis, with the Wu-Tang rapper stating, “Her family members didn’t even know she was sick. You can attack me anyway you want to. I’m in the entertainment business, but don’t attack my family.”
Unfortunately, instead of seeing the error of her ways, Williams has continued this feud over the years, including claiming in 2021 that she had engaged in a one-night stand with Meth back in the day. Tamika finally broke her silence on the subject by lashing out at Williams in a public statement. This beef proves that, despite her assertion that she is a fixture within hip hop culture, Wendy Williams must have missed the memo that the Wu-Tang Clan ain't nothin' to f*** with.
1. 50 Cent
If anyone could rival Wendy Williams for the position of most petty provocateur in pop culture and entertainment, it's 50 Cent. The pair have clashed numerous times over the years, giving rise to a series of hilarious social media posts and talk show segments as a result of their ongoing beef. Similar to many other rappers, Wendy Williams accused 50 Cent of being secretly gay and criticized him on air for his comments expressing joy at the prospect of no longer paying child support.
Likewise, 50 Cent took to social media to share doctored photos of Williams in the poster for Beauty and the Beast, making fun of her looks and body type, and calling her a crackhead through numerous online roasts. Though the beef has been cold for a few years now, both Wendy Williams and 50 Cent have a long history of bringing up old feuds decades later for a cheap laugh, meaning this beef could reignite at a moment's notice.