Barbara Walters Vs. Star Jones

Barbara Turns Tabloid

Well, Barbara Walters is back in the game! She may have been stagnant for a while, enjoying the thrill of the media realm from a vacationer's perch while floating between various spotlights, but in the publication of her new book, Audition, many heads are turning. Don't get me wrong, she still found time to be co-executive/producer and co-host of the fanatical daytime talk show, The View, joining in on intense conversations and presenting innovative ideas to make it a thriving enterprise, but the youthful generation of today knows nothing of a woman once dominating nighttime news with the knowledge and interviews of 20/20.

Her book has no holds barred, ranging from explicit details of past affairs, hidden details of her father's attempted suicide, and last but definitely not least, the drastic impact of Star Jones' gastric bypass surgery. Walters says Star has lost 160 pounds over the last three years due to the surgery and was planning to come on air and speak to that effect, but she changed her mind at the last minute, refusing to become a "poster child" for the procedure. Not only had that been a painful moment in Star's life, but it led to her divorce when she became bold enough to speak of the surgery and her misconceptions of beauty to Glamour magazine. Needless to say, Star did not take Barbara's lashing well, especially since they had parted from The View on "rocky" terms.

In an effort to save her name and to set the record straight, Star tells US Weekly, "It is a sad day when an icon like Barbara Walters, in the sunset of her life, is reduced to publicly branding herself as an adulterer, humiliating an innocent family with accounts of her illicit affair and speaking negatively against me all for the sake of selling a book. It speaks to her true character." In one small sentence Star sheds light on both everything Barbara had done and everything Barbara was willing to do to for cheap advertising. How much of it was true, we may never know- but the more time spent debating and the wider the media frenzy, the higher her book will soar, and any publicist will tell you, no publicity is bad publicity.