Don Lemon Says Wendy Williams' Guardianship Too Strict, 'Should Be With Family'

Don Lemon has a strong take on Wendy Williams' guardianship -- based on his recent convo with her -- and it's totally in line with a judge's latest decision regarding her immediate future.

We spoke to Don Friday at LAX, where he told us he believes the guardianship is "too strict," and "she should be able to see her family."

Just a few hours after we spoke to him, TMZ broke the story -- the judge in the guardianship gave Wendy permission to go visit her father in South Florida to celebrate his 94th birthday.

It's just one step in Wendy's battle to get permanently released from an assisted living facility in NYC. TMZ has interviewed Wendy about that battle for our new Tubi documentary -- "Saving Wendy" -- and in it, we raise serious questions about why she is still in a guardianship that gives her virtually no freedom.

She calls her studio apartment at the facility a "luxury prison," where she rarely gets to breathe fresh air, has no internet access, and virtually no visitors.

Don, who interviewed Wendy a couple weeks ago, says he hasn't been able to speak to her since ... but he's been in touch with her family, and just wants what's best for her -- whether that's total freedom or some form of medical care.

Wendy's been diagnosed with frontal lobe dementia, and will be accompanied by court-authorized private security for her trip to visit her dad -- she'll only be there for 2 days before she has to fly back to NYC.

As we reported, the judge is also prohibiting Wendy from having any further contact with the media. In recent weeks, she's done interviews with Don, Charlamagne Tha God and, of course, TMZ.