News: Barbara Walters Talks About Star Jone’s Exit from The View

Barbara Walters was on the Oprah Winfrey Show today getting pretty dishy. Particularly while discussing Star Jones’ exit from The View (she wasn’t fired, like she originally suggested) and the problem with Donald Trump that began when Rosie O’Donnell (Star’s replacement) announced on the air that Trump was flat broke. Walters also choked up as she talked about her departed sister, which seems no small feat considering she has made so many other A listers cry on her own show.

Some gems (as reported by People):

• On Star Jones: Walters says that it was tough for the panelists on the View to lie when Jones refused to discuss her gastric bypass surgery – but she did so anyway. “We had to lie on the set everyday,” Walters told Winfrey. “She was our colleague and she really did not want us to out her … We cared about her, and we thought we owed her.” Instead, Jones told audience members at the time she had lost weight because of “portion control and pilates.”

• On Rosie O’Donnell: Walters says that while O’Donnell is no longer on the show, she still feels a great deal of affection for her cohost – and says she’s an “enormous talent.”

But Walters says that O’Donnell’s “emotional issues” complicated their relationship, suggesting that perhaps the comedian viewed her as a maternal figure.

“If I didn’t do what she hoped I’d do, she felt I’d abandoned her,” Walters said, referencing O’Donnell’s claim that Walters was not publicly supportive during her feud with Donald Trump. (Walters reveals that she was on a boat in the Caribbean with Judge Judy when the story broke). She also notes that O’Donnell was used to being in control of things. “She had always driven the bus and she could not just ride the bus,” she said.

More on These Topics: Barbara Walters | Donald Trump | Oprah Winfrey | Rosie O'Donnell | Star Jones | The View