Star 'Will Not Denigrate Ms. Walters'

Reynolds on Larry King Live on June 29.



In her first TV interview since leaving The View, Star Jones Reynolds said she would not engage in a war of words with former co-host Barbara Walters. "I will not denigrate Ms. Walters. That's not who I am," Reynolds told CNN's Larry King on Thursday.

"I have learned from that woman ... as much about television as I did about the law from my mentor, the late Johnnie Cochran." She did, however, express dismay that Walters had asked Rosie O'Donnell to join The View just days after Reynolds was told her contract would not be renewed.

Reynolds termed the maneuver "strange in terms of timing." O'Donnell had previously criticized Reynolds about her weight loss and other issues. "She went on a very public attack on me and my family," Reynolds told King. "She talked about my weight. ... I was so shocked by the viciousness of it."

Reynolds also revealed that her bosses at ABC encouraged to lie about the reason for her departure from The View. "They said, 'You can make up a story,' " she said. "The audience didn't deserve for me to make up a story. That's not fair."


Walters has said she was "blindsided" by Reynolds's on-air announcement on Tuesday that she was leaving the show, and was further stunned to learn that Reynolds had revealed to PEOPLE that she'd been fired.

On Wednesday's episode, Walters announced that Reynolds would not be returning to the program. King read Reynolds a statement from ABC claiming that Reynolds had been dismissed from the show immediately because, after her remarks to PEOPLE, the network could not trust her to tell the truth if she remained on the air.

Reynolds said she was "having trouble reconciling" that charge with the fact that ABC had previously asked her to lie. On another topic, King asked Reynolds whether she'd had surgery to lose 150 lbs.

She said only, "Because of my health … I needed a full-scale medical intervention, and my doctors had to step in to save my life."

On Friday's Today show, Reynolds said she was weathering the storm "thanks to the love and support of the fans, the viewers, my friends and family." She added, "The truth is very freeing." Walters and The View co-executive producer Bill Geddie declined to appear on the show with her, Today's Al Roker said.

Later asked by Roker, who chronicled his own gastric bypass surgery for the public, if she had anything to say about her own significant weight loss, Reynolds would only thank everyone for their prayers.

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