Star Jones Speaks Out!
June 30, 2006
This week, ABC asked STAR JONES REYNOLDS not to return to "The View" following her impromptu on-air announcement that she would not be back next season. A day after she was gone, her chair was filled with temporary replacement RENEE ELISE GOLDSBERRY from "One Life To Live."
Now, the gloves are off and Star is speaking her mind! The former "View" co-host appeared on "LARRY KING Live" Thursday night and left no stoned unturned.
On whether she feels betrayed about being let go, Star said: "[Betrayed] is such a tough word. I looked at it as a business decision. But it became very, very personal in the media, and that started to hurt."
As for her former "View" co-hosts, Star said, "I hope I'm still friendly with them all."
Star also told Larry that she was informed in April that her contract would not be renewed for "The View": "I was told on April 21st that my contract wasn't going to be renewed [so] for two months I have been going to work every single day [with that knowledge.]"
As for why she decided to share the news on the show this week, Star adds, "I was told I would be able to leave on my own terms. The terms I chose was to tell the truth."
Other comments Star made to Larry on his show include:
On whether her weight loss was due to surgery: "I've always said it was a medical intervention. ... I mean, look at me, for goodness' sake!"
On whether she took advantage of her celebrity for her wedding to AL REYNOLDS: "Yes, I used my celebrity one hundred percent, and if you ask me if that was a mistake, I'm gonna tell you yes. And if you ask me, would I have done it the same way again, I would say no, one hundred percent."
On her husband's reaction to her being let go from "The View": "He said, 'Baby, put your stiff upper lip on, and you are going to shine.'"
On who she would like to replace her on "The View": "I really would like them to fill the seat with someone who brings diversity. ...It would be nice to see another African American professional [on the show]."
On what's next for her: "I'm gonna work on my new television projects. ... I'm gonna work on child advocacy, and I will continue to grow and become the person that I aspire to be every single day."
With a little faith, and perhaps a bit of good fortune on her side, viewers just might see the former "View" anchor back on TV sooner rather than later. ET broke the news several weeks ago that Star was reportedly shopping around a new talk show, shortly after it was announced that ROSIE O'DONNELL would be joining "The View" this fall.
Almost immediately following Tuesday's on-air shocker, news broke that Star had told People magazine that it wasn't her choice to leave. "What you don't know is that my contract was not renewed for the tenth season," she revealed to the mag. "I feel like I was fired."
Meanwhile, BARBARA WALTERS said Tuesday that she'd had no idea about the People article in a statement to the Associated Press: "I love Star and was trying to do everything I possibly could -- up until this morning when I was betrayed -- to protect her."
Star then responded to Barbara's comments during a radio interview, saying, "I was really shocked that Barbara would use such a strong word as betrayal, when for two months, I walked in there every single day and did my job." She then added, "I don't feel a need to protect myself by lying to the viewers."
"And then there were three," said a solemn Barbara at the start of Wednesday's broadcast as she sat with remaining co-hosts JOY BEHAR and ELISABETH HASSELBECK. Barbara then explained to viewers that Star would no longer be part of the show in light of her surprise announcement and for comments she has made to the media.
Walters said that it was a "difficult" day for all of them, and that Star knew for months that her contract wouldn't be renewed for a "variety of reasons," and that they wanted to give her the chance to exit the show gracefully.
But Barbara nonetheless remarked that, despite her removal from the show, "'The View' helped make Star a star and Star helped make 'The View' a success."
Star was obviously not about to let Barbara have the last word, and on Wednesday evening, she told The Daily News she felt humiliated when Barbara "did not call me herself" to inform her she would not be asked to return for another season.
"After nine years, she didn't call me," recalls Star, who says she received the phone call in April from her agents instead. "They told me my contract would not be renewed because my approval rating had gone down ... I was like, whoa!"
Star also expressed frustration at Barbara's decision to hire Rosie as MEREDITH VIEIRA's replacement.
"Rosie had attacked me on every single evening entertainment program," says Star. "Barbara used that week to call her and invite her to be part of a show that I helped launch nine years ago."
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