Wendy Williams has been a household name nationwide for ten years now, thanks to her popular daytime talk show. For many of us who have lived in the tri-state area, however, she’s been a legend on and off the radio since the late 80’s, as her “say it like you mean it” type of attitude and persona has helped get to where she is today.

Last month, she celebrated her 54th birthday in style surrounded by family, friends, stars and special guests at the inaugural “Wendy Williams Hunter Birthday Give Back Gala” on Wednesday, July 18, 2018 at Hammerstein Ballroom. The Hunter Foundation hosted the fundraising event, in partnership with Facing Addiction with NCADD to benefit victims of drug addiction and substance abuse.

Additionally, it unveiled a new partnership with Snackpop.com, the parent brand of Cookie Pop and Candy Pop, which will be donating proceeds from every bag sold globally to her foundation as of September 2018. Their brand is known for their Mrs. Fields, Snickers bar and Butterfinger flavor low calorie popcorn.

The evening was hosted by actress and television personality Torrei Hart, including special performances by R&B artists Johnny Gill, Keri Hilson and PM, a special tribute honoring the late Natalie Cole with “The Extraordinary Figure Award,” and special guest speakers including EMMY® Award nominated actress Victoria Rowell, CEO of Facing Addiction with NCADD Jim Hood, President & CEO of Snackpop.com Frank Florio and Hot 97 multi-media personality TT Torez.

Special guests in attendance included Mona Scott-Young, Don Lemon, Kim Coles, Baruch Shemtov, Derek Luke, Lori Stokes, Rosanna Scotto, Remy Ma, Papoose, Yandy Smith, Nick Hissom, Rip Michaels, Scott Braun, SnackPop.com’s Frank Florio and Adam Cohen and many others.

Contributing partners for the inaugural Gala include Debmar-Mercury, Urban Movie Channel, Viacom and Cookie Pop. For more information about The Wendy Williams Hunter Birthday Give Back Gala, The Hunter Foundation and Facing Addiction with NCADD, please visit here and here.