Wendy Williams has been criticised for appearing to mock the tragic death of The Price is Right presenter Drew Carey's ex-fiancee.
Dr. Amie Harwick was found dead at her Los Angeles home over the weekend, with local police officers reporting that she had fallen from a balcony. Her ex-boyfriend Gareth Pursehouse was arrested and charged with murder.
But during a segment on her show on Monday, Williams commented that Harwick had been "pushed from a third-floor balcony," and added, "She was killed. Not by Drew."
The TV host then paused her speech to reference the famous The Price is Right line "come on down," shouting it as she looked up and tilted her head down - as if she was watching someone fall.
Taking her remark to make light of Harwick's passing, many audience members groaned while others remained resolutely silent, causing Williams to move onto her next statement about the incident - whom she called Hardwick - and the death of Recess star Jason Davis, whom she named as Jason David.
Following the airing of the show, numerous viewers took to social media to slam Williams for the tasteless quip about Harwick, with one writing: "So @WendyWilliams hears that Drew Carey's former fiancee was thrown off a balcony and later died. Her attacker was a man she'd been seeing. #WendyWilliams thought it was funny and made a joke about it. I'd like to call her a soulless harpy, but I was raised better."
"How tf (the f**k) do you make a joke about someone's murder? And how many times is @WendyWilliams going to put herself under fired before she's terminated. It's not the first time she's said something uncalled for. Yeah her shows on gossip but there's a line you DON'T cross," another added.
The backlash comes just days after the presenter was forced to apologise to the LGBTQ+ community for her "out of touch" comments about gay men, which included stating that they couldn't compare themselves to women because they don't menstruate, and suggesting they shouldn't wear skirts and heels because women don't have anything for themselves anymore.
The 55-year-old also sparked backlash earlier this year when she mocked Joaquin Phoenix's cleft lip, for which she once again issued an apology.
Sex therapist Harwick got engaged to Carey in February 2018, but the pair parted ways amicably in November that year.
