Television presenter Wendy Williams has announced that she’s to take a three-week break from work, after learning that she is suffering from hyper-thyroid condition Graves’ disease.

The 53 year old star told her audience on Wednesday’s edition of ‘The Wendy Williams Show’ that she had been recently diagnosed with Graves’, an autoimmune condition affecting the thyroid, in addition to thyroid issues about which she has been previously aware.

“Graves’ disease squeezes the muscles behind the eyeballs,” she told the audience, acknowledging that her audience had picked up on this in recent weeks before she did, observing her appearance during shows over the last few months.

“My doctor has prescribed — are you ready? — as of today, three weeks of vacation,” Williams announced. “What? Who are you? I was pissed.”

Wendy WilliamsWendy Williams is taking a three-week break

Though she was advised to take three weeks off, Williams remarked, “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.”

However, Williams then took a solemn moment to advise her viewers of the importance of having consistent check-ups, revealing that she cancelled a long-awaited appointment in December with an endocrinologist in favour of a business meeting. “What I want to say to women, more than men, is: stop putting everyone first, because if we’re not good, they’re not good.”

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A representative for ‘The Wendy Williams Show’ then made a subsequent statement to the press.

“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. A live show was produced today so that Wendy could speak directly to her fans and explain her condition.”

Having never missed an episode of her show since it began in 2008, Williams had cancelled several episodes last week citing “flu-like” symptoms.

“I do go to the doctors today to find out what exactly it is,” she explained. “I feel awful. I had to be talked out of going to work today and taking off a few days to get myself together.”

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