The View

Star And Barbara Use "The View" To Fued

It's now official. Star Jones Reynolds made the announcement on yesterday morning's show that she's definitely leaving "The View". She said, "I'm not sure what the future holds, but I'm absolutely sure who holds the future." She tells "People" magazine, "What you don't know is that my contract was not renewed for the tenth season. I feel like I was fired." Star says she discovered this just a few days before word got out back in April that Rosie O'Donnell was joining the show. Meanwhile, Barbara Walters was upset that Star made the announcement on yesterday's show and that she did the "People" interview. Barbara says the announcement was planned for Thursday, and Star, "betrayed" her. Barbara freely admits that producers wanted her gone because research showed that Star's wedding to allegedly gay banker Al Reynolds, coupled with all her weight loss chaos, were turning viewers off. Sources now say that ABC has asked Star not to return to the show and that her departure is effective immediately.

Your lesson for today: Do not "betray" Barbara Walters. Star Jones crossed Barbara when she made the surprise announcement on Tuesday's edition of "The View" that she wouldn't be back in the fall. Star was told not to show up for work yesterday, or ever again. In addition, all reference to and images of Star were removed from the show's opening credits, and its website at ABC.com (Star will still appear on some future shows in pre-taped segments.) As we told you yesterday, Star was supposed to announce that she was leaving "The View" on today's show. That's how Barbara and the show's producers had wanted it. But, she jumped the gun by talking about her dismissal on Tuesday's show. Barbara said, quote, "I would have loved for Star to have left and not said 'I was fired' and not make it look like the program was somehow being cruel to her."