The View returned for their first episode of 2023 and viewers were touched by the sweet tribute the talk show made to the late Barbara Walters, who passed away at the end of 2022 at the age of 93.
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Current And Former Panelists Remember Walters
Walters was the brains behind The View. The legendary reporter launched the talk show in 1997 and built it into the daytime-TV mainstay it is today. She left the show in 2014 but clearly remained a favorite among the rest of the co-hosts.
The current panel—Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah Griffin—shared their memories of Walters on the first episode of 2023 before welcoming past hosts to talk about the iconic reporter.
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Star Jones, Meredith Viera, and Debbie Matenopoulos were part of the inaugural panel of The View alongside Walters, and all three shared stories about their time with her on the show. Jones called her “the best gossiper” she’d ever met, while Matenopoulos said they shared a “mother-daughter” relationship.
“She was tough on me, but I appreciated it, because I learned everything from her. She single-handedly changed my life,” Matenopoulos shared. “Truly, all my life, all I wanted to do was make her proud.”
Lisa Ling: ‘She Thought Of Us As Her Kids’
Other hosts shared the impact Walters had on their personal lives as well. Lisa Ling, who joined the show in 1999, revealed that Walters inspired her to start going to therapy.
“For her, I really do believe she thought of us as her kids, as her daughters,” she explained. “It was so important for her that we all do well and that we were all happy. She was so supportive.”
Another past host, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, talked about how she and Walters frequently disagreed on the air, which strengthened their relationship.
“I think the reason why Barbara and I not only had that special relationship 10 years at The View but 10 years since, in such an enriched way, is because she put our relationship over the roles that we had,” she said.
The episode ended with a montage of video clips that showed some of Walters’ most memorable moments on the talk show. Walters will be missed by her friends, co-workers, and viewers all over the world, but her legacy as a journalist will live on for many years to come.
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