Star says her bosses were okay with her being a 'functioning addict'

Wendy Williams during an interview with host Seth Meyers on May 19, 2016. Photo / Getty

Wendy Williams says her former bosses were willing to ignore her drug addiction because she was "making ratings".

The 54-year-old TV star was presenting on the radio at the height of her cocaine addiction, but Wendy - who refers to herself as a "functioning addict" - has revealed she escaped punishment from her superiors as she was still attracting a sizeable audience.

Wendy Williams and Guest during 5th Annual Tribeca Film Festival After Party at BED Nightclub in New York City, New York, United States. Photo / Getty

She shared: "I was a functioning addict though. I report to work on time, and I'd walk in and all my co-workers, including my bosses, would know but since I would have my headphones on and walk in the studio and [they] wouldn't fire me because I was making ratings."

Despite this, Wendy is amazed that she was ever able to maintain her job during her addiction.

She admitted her drug-fuelled lifestyle made basics tasks, like waking up in the morning, a real challenge.

She told 'Entertainment Tonight': "A functioning addict has several alarm clocks, you're organised. It's a miracle I was able to stop."

Meanwhile, Wendy recently claimed her life has "completely changed" since her health scare in 2017.

The talk show host was forced to take a three-week hiatus from hosting 'The Wendy Williams Show' in October last year, when she collapsed live on air due to complications with her overactive thyroid and the autoimmune disease Graves.

Media personality/author Wendy Williams speaks to the audience at The Bryant Park Reading Room on May 15, 2013 in New York City. Photo / Norrie Montgomery

Wendy - who was first diagnosed with the condition 19 years ago - was told by doctors that her dramatic fall was because she was on the wrong dose of medication.

She said: "Everything was fine. I had the radioactive iodine [medication], taking my pill a day, minding my own business.

"Then back in the fall or maybe around July of last year, I started feeling weird in the head but I'm thinking, 'OK, this is maybe a casualty of menopause or we were ramping up for season nine of the 'Wendy Show'.' So, it wasn't until I passed out on my own show [in October] that ... Anyway, life has completely changed."