(Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Barbara Walters (or Baba Wawa as she was once known) is announcing her retirement on today’s episode of The View, putting an end to a 50-year career that saw her become the first woman to sit at the anchor chair back in 1974. After serving as co-host of the Today show, Walters moved to ABC, and has been there for the last 37 years. Over the her career, she’s won 12 Emmys, interviewed international leaders including President Obama and Fidel Castro, and is now the executive producer of The View, which is the role she will continue with once she steps off camera in 2014. She will continue to serve as co-executive producer of the show.

Rumors about her retirement surfaced in March, with Walters coming out to specifically say she didn’t have an announcement at that time. Walters is clear that her retirement has nothing to do with the health issues she dealt with earlier this year — a bout of the chicken pox and a fall as the result of fainting. Still, she says this is something that’s been on her mind for years. She is 83 years old, so we don’t want Barbara working until she just falls out on-air.

Of her retirement, Walters says she looks forward to spending a little more time than she’s used to in one place when she travels. “I want to go someplace and actually see it. I’ve been to China three times. I hope the Great Wall is still there. I went when Nixon went, but wound up running after him with a tape recorder,” she told the Times.

Over the next year, we can expect a number of retrospectives and tributes to the iconic host. Her show has undergone a number of changes in the past few months, with Joy Behar announcing that she’s leaving her chair at The View desk and speculation that Elisabeth Hasselbeck will follow. Whoopi said she “doesn’t give a f**k” who replaces them as long as she gets paid, but maybe she has other feelings about Barbara.

Update: Walters made her announcement via montage video, looking back on her long career. After a few tears and a sanding ovation, she announced that she will step down during the summer of 2014.

“This is my decision… and this is what I want to do,” she said. “There will be special occasions and I’ll come back.” She says she looks forward to the next year, “my last season.”

Sherri Shepherd added the a bit about Walters “foresight” in bringing two African-American women — herself and Whoopi Goldberg — to host daytime television.

A slew of ABC execs appeared in the audience for the big announcement.

From BlackVoices

“View” co-host Sherri Shepherd appeared on Tuesday’s “Fox & Friends” and told the hosts why she planned on purchasing a gun. Last month, the alarm system in Shepherd’s house went off in the middle of the night. Shepherd was so freaked out that she decided to purchase a gun. “We have two dogs and they didn’t bark,” Shepherd said to the “Fox & Friends” hosts.

“And immediately my husband jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. And I ran to my son Jeffrey’s room. And I never wanted a gun in my house but the sight of my son laying there saying, ‘Mommy I’m scared.’ That’s when you realize all you got is a wicker trash basket between me and anybody that comes in this room. And it was a scary thought.”

Read More at BlackVoices.com

Nicholas Hunt/PatrickMcMullan.com/Sipa USA (Sipa via AP Images)

After spending the past few weeks beating back rumors that Elisabeth Hasselbeck is on her way out of The View, The New York Times has sources saying that it’s Barbara Walters herself who will be leaving the show, retiring May 2014.

The 83-year-old Walters, who has been in media for 50 years, has suffered from a concussion and the chicken pox this year, so her health has been an issue. She also underwent heart surgery in 2010.

Throughout her career, she blazed a trail for women in media, becoming the first prominent female face on programs like Today and 20/20. At one point she was even the highest-paid journalist on television, according to TVNewser.

While it’s still unconfirmed whether Hasselbeck is leaving the show, we know for sure that Joy Behar is. Now there might be three seats to fill on the show.

Source: WENN

Last week we reported that comedian Joy Behar would be leaving her post as a co-host of popular daytime television show, The View. It appears that when the contract renewal time rolled around, Behar decided that she would not renew her contract because she desired to explore other options, including writing a play and tending to her standup career, which she expressed to have neglected. While many are sad to see her go, the prospect of a new personality being added to the mix is most certainly exciting. We even put together our own list of ladies who could possibly replace Joy on The View. According to Showbiz411, actress Brooke Shields is “likely” to be filling Joy’s seat on the show’s panel.

A source revealed to the entertainment site that 47-year-old Shields is the key contender when it comes to the race to fill Behar’s vacant slot. It is also said that Barbara Walters is really pulling for her.

It seems that an industry insider has been whispering to the folks over at PEOPLE.com as well.

“She has been asked to co-host a few times. They love her and she enjoys it. She has co-hosted The Talk, Good Morning America, and the Today Show as well. She’s a great host,” the source told PEOPLE.

In other news relating to The View, in this morning’s episode Barbara Walters squashed recent rumors that her co-star Elisabeth Hassleback wouldn’t be returning to the show. On the heels of the announcement of Joy Behar’s departure, rumors began to swirl that producers fired Hassleback due to her unpopularity among viewers and her conservative opinions.

“There’s a particularly false story that keeps getting picked up about Elisabeth’s alleged departure saying we don’t approve of her conservative views. The truth is… we value and appreciate her point of view, it’s important to us, because it helps give the show perspective and balance,” Walters said of Hassleback’s rumored termination.

“We have no plans for Elisabeth to leave the show. Having said that to all of you, Bill [Geddie] and I have always said that when one of you make the choice to leave, that’s your choice, and we will support your decision,” she continued.

Well, looks like that’s settled, for now.

Could you see Brooke Shields being added to The View‘s cast?

Source: ABC News

When you’ve achieved Diva status, like Mariah Carey has, the public is bound to believe you when things get a little hairy between you, the diva, and a newcomer. This time that newcomer just so happened to be Nicki Minaj. While I’m willing to bet money that Mariah started or instigated whatever argument that was caught on camera, Nicki Minaj was the one who came off looking crazy, as she was the only one heard screaming.

And then, in the aftermath, when the media tried to get both sides of the story, Nicki responded in smaller media outlets while Mariah talked to Barbara Walters, telling her that she hired extra security after Nicki threatened her. She even pulled the mama bear card, saying that now that she has two twins to protect, she can’t take those type of threats lightly. Well played, indeed. You can imagine whose words traveled the fastest.

And recently, in another exclusive with Barbara Walters, Mariah threw some serious shade when she responded to the lyrics of Nicki’s new song, “Hell Yeah,” which is an obvious jab at her fellow American Idol judge.

Check out the utter dismissal in the video below. You can watch the full six minute interview or skip to the 3 minute mark where it gets juicy.

Source: NY Daily News

The beautiful relationship shared between President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama is the epitome of Black love at its best. The way that these Harvard graduates feel about each other is very apparent because it shines through in nearly everything that they do. If you’ve ever wondered how the First Couple keeps it all together and still appear to be so very much in love after twenty years of marriage, two children, and four years in the White House, pull out your pen and pad. In their first interview together since the election, Barack and Michelle share with Barbara Walters the story behind their infamous campaign trail photograph in which they are depicted on stage in an extremely loving embrace. Barack also revealed the secret to a successful marriage.

When asked by Barbara why the two were hugging each other so tightly in the photograph, President Obama responded “Cause I love my wife.” Michelle had more to say about the photograph, expressing that the couple had been apart for a substantial amount of time due to campaign efforts.

“And also I hadn’t seen him in a while. When campaigning we were like two ships passing in the night and the first time I saw him was when I walked on stage to greet him. And that’s my honey giving me a hug,” the First Lady added.

Barbara, clearly aware of the strong bond shared between the POTUS and the FLOTUS, then asked the couple how they keep the fire in their marriage going after all of these years. Barack’s response was refreshingly insightful and so far from common clichés that many married couples are known for dishing out.

“We’ve been married now twenty years, and like every marriage you have your ups and you have your downs, but if you work through the tough times the respect and love that you feel deepens.”

It sounds so simple, but when you think about it, it makes so much sense. Many couples head for the hills at the first sign of turbulence, but a love that endures tests and trials is a love that will continue to grow.

Check out a clip of the interview on the following page. What do you think of President Obama’s explanation for keeping his love alive?

Source: WENN

“My Truth” is certainly an appropriate title for Nicki Minaj’s three-part reality series because the hip-pop star definitely seems to have a distorted view of reality. On Sunday night’s installment, Nicki addressed the “American Idol” drama with Mariah Carey and the media aftermath, and surprisingly she had more harsh words for “The View’s” Barbara Walters than Mimi.

Nicki didn’t seem to appreciate that Barbara reached out to Mariah to get her side of the story and not her. And even though Barbara’s excuse that she had Mariah’s home number and didn’t know how to get in touch with Roman (even though the producers booked her on the show a couple weeks before) was weak, I don’t know if Nicki’s explanation for why that happened was totally accurate. According to Necole Bitchie, in her confessional, she said:

I hear that Mariah went to Barbara Walters with some more fabrication.  Telling Barbara Walters that I said something about a gun, which everyone knows I’m way smarter than that. Like, wow. I was like, ‘Really?’ My jaw was like open and I was in shock. I’ve never in my life said anything regarding a gun.

I did not say anything right away. I wanted everything to blow over, but you picking up TMZ and Barbara Walters…and now you’ve done opened a can of worms. Am I not good enough for you to get my side because I’m a little black girl that raps? Because if I was J.Lo, you would’ve called J.Lo’s camp. Are we not good enough for you now Barbara? Because you wasn’t even there when I was on the show, Barbara. So I guess I’m not good enough, I’m only good enough to tell people that I’m unpredictable when you don’t f***king know me.

Why would I want to have a rift with someone that I have looked up to my whole life. I’ve loved her. I even told her that in the meeting. I’m happy that Mariah’s on the panel because I think that’s a great thing. You’ve got one of the greatest singers that ever sang ever in the world. Ain’t nothing wrong with that, but the fact that you find something wrong with me being on there? That’s why there’s an issue.

Obviously it’s another ploy to get me off the show…And ain’t nobody gon’ run me off that motha f***kin’ show.”

Nicki also explained how her admiration for Mariah ended up turning into going toe-to-toe with her during auditions.

I just know that I had reached my boiling point.Twenty minutes before that happened, she egged me on and I was like, ‘You know what? Let me go.’ I walked off. I stormed off the stage because I didn’t want to do that. So, I left, and when I came back it was another jab and I said, ‘Okay, now I’m gonna show you…’ She’s admitted that she did not want another female doing the show. Thinking somebody’s coming to steal her shine, nitpicking, and I don’t do well with that passive aggressive s–t. I stay away from mother f–kers. I work and keep it moving. I don’t f–k with the people in the business, but I did the show today and it was good. I made it clear like, if you do that again, I’m gonna do this again. Like, I’m not gonna allow it anymore. I can’t.

Well, we haven’t heard of any shenanigans since. Maybe Nicki really did shut it down.

Do you think it was shady of Barbara Walters not to reach out to Nicki after the “American Idol” drama?

Source: Wenn.com

One thing you can say about Nicki Minaj: she sure is fascinating.

The weird voices and multiple personalities, the crazy costumes and the funny colored hair only skim the surface of what makes her attractive, especially to criticism. Folks may not like to admit it but we really do just love to hate Nicki Minaj, even when the reasons are unclear.

Yesterday, her critics were the ladies of “The View,” particularly Barbara Walters, who had spoken to Mariah Carey about the now infamous explosion on the set of “American Idol.”  Reading from a statement, Carey, through Walters, claimed that Nicki Minaj threatened to shoot her on the set of “American Idol” after Minaj criticized Mariah for something rude she said to a contestant.  Because of the threat and outburst, Carey, through Walters, says that she doesn’t feel “emotionally comfortable as a judge” but out of love of being a mentor, will continue with the show. And although she doesn’t think anything will come of the threats, she believes that Minaj is unpredictable and has taken the necessary precautions by hiring extra security.

Although the ladies of “The View” mostly attributed the tension to big egos, it was clear whose side Walters was playing on, even going as far as to speculate that “If you put that on writing, it would be a federal offense.”  Of course, it wasn’t in writing but a comment allegedly said in the midst of a heated argument. However this hasn’t stopped folks from wanting to believe that the situation went down exactly the way Carey, through Walters, said it did. As a good friend of mine posted on Facebook, which seems to be indicative of how most people feel about this situation, “I just can’t be on Nicki’s side for this. Why is she on the show? She can’t sing, and she doesn’t book talent. AI should never have hired her IMHO.”

Nicki Minaj came on the scene hated. Despite zero competition from other female rappers, thus making her the quintessential queen of the femee, she still couldn’t capture that unifying spirit of sisterhood that previous female rappers enjoyed. Lil Kim would become her first adversary, accusing her of biting her entire style down to the hairs of her multicolored wigs. Minaj would contend that her style was homage to the female rappers before her, including Kim. Lines would be drawn between Team Nicki and Team Kim. Sales of her first album, Pink Friday, would prove that Minaj had triumphed, solidifying her as the new queen of Hip Hop. However the victory was short lived.

The real trouble started upon the arrival of her second album. Music critics blasted it for abandoning her gritty street rap in favor of more dance pop horizons. Minaj would send out a series of tweets blasting some of her fans, including a fan site, which prematurely released her music. After a back and forth among some fans, who took offense and accused Minaj of being ungrateful, Minaj took target at them, tweeting, “And that’s exactly why I’m paying the barbz DUST right now!”  Adding:  “Like seriously, its but so much a person can take. Good f***ing bye.”  Then she deleted her Twitter account to the befuddlement of 11 million followers. This caused many of her “barbz” to jump ship including one of her followers, who wrote via Tumblr, “She doesn’t seem to be leading the Barbz anymore, she jumped right in and became one. #LAME”

Although she would come back to twitter and reunite with some of her most loyal followers, the disdain for Minaj would only grow in strength. Cher took a jab at her after mistakenly assuming that a lyric in Did it On ‘Em (‘If you could turn back time, Cher/ You used to be here, now you’re gone, Nair.’) was a diss towards the legendary singer/actress. Hot 97 on-air personality Peter Rosenberg also took an unprovoked jab at Minaj, suggesting that she was not “real Hip-Hop,” right before she was scheduled to perform during that station’s Summer Jam concert. DMX, who made a career of barking and growling on albums, would publicly criticize Minaj for “stealing bars” with her funny sound effects. Even the president of the United States stopped his busy schedule of running the nation to mic check Minaj about her tongue and cheek Mitt Romney “endorsement” on her mixtape.

Eventually hating Minaj became in vogue and there were no shortage of folks eager to express their displeasure with her, some legitimate, some not so much.  Some critics would take offense to some of her more problematic lyrics and question if she was a good role model for young women. One such detractor would even call for a boycott.  Others question her talent period and ponder about the state of music that would allow her to be at the top. But despite the criticism, it is clear that the woman does see what she does as art and such takes it very seriously.

Minaj, who played the clarinet in middle school and studied music, visual and performance arts in high school, takes pride in the fact that she writes her own material, something that can’t be said for many male and female rappers on the scene.  And in previous interviews, she states that her outlandish style, multi-personalities and fantasy world she created in her music and on stage are her way of escaping from the pain of being reared in a household with a brutal drug-addicted father. “The alter egos allow me to not box myself in and get to a point of total freedom,” she said. Moreover, it is hard to attribute bad role modeling specifically to her, considering that other, more socially accepted entertainers including Rihanna and Beyonce frequently wear skimpy outfits, dry hump the air and sing songs with sex-laden lyrics. Every artist nowadays has a gimmick and let’s face it, Minaj is not the first or the worst of the mediocre offenders. So what makes her rise to stardom less deserving?

And let’s not act like Mariah Carey, who only a couple of years ago was in another beef with rapper Eminem, is not a huge drama queen/diva herself. It was rumored that prior to the start of taping, Mariah was so incensed by Minaj’s addition to the “American Idol” panel that she hung up the phone on the producers.  And on the first day of taping, it has been alleged that Carey made it a point to interrupt Minaj several times as she critiqued a contestant’s performance. Likewise, questions remain about who leaked the video, which was taken on a supposed closed set? And then there is Ryan Seacrest, who spoke about Minaj’s freak-out, “We want that! We want them to be on this panel together. This is a good team, a great team, to go out and look for the next “American Idol” . . . the feedback that they give is very good.”

I have no doubt that their “feedback” is very good  – for television, for ratings and ultimately for the fledgling “American Idol.”

But let’s say that this “beef” is real and not some publicity stunt, is it so hard to believe that Minaj really isn’t the bad guy here? That it is entirely possible that she is a victim, being baited and bullied by a disgruntled Carey?  Sure, she is a black female rapper, who  wears weird clothes, makes subpar music and does funny voices.  But she is the hottest thing in music right now. So hot that the makers of “American Idol” thought it fine for her to share the same stage with a bonafide diva with decades under her belt. So what is there not to hate about her?

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While watching another very interesting episode of “The View” this morning (it’s actually over at 12), the topic of course came up about the whole Nicki Minaj vs. Mariah Carey argument on the “American Idol” set in Charlotte, NC on Tuesday. Today, TMZ reported that Nicki and people in her camp think “American Idol” producers are using her to cause drama and get ratings. That’s why she’s allegedly just going to walk off of the set next time things between Carey and the rapper get less than friendly. Surprisingly though, Barbara Walters pulled out her notepad this morning and shared with viewers and her “high-risk” co-hosts that she had spoken with Mariah this morning about all the drama, and BOY OH BOY, did Mariah have some exclusives to drop.

According to Walters, Carey told her that while the show must go on and they’re back to promotion and filming for “American Idol,” she doesn’t feel emotionally comfortable as a judge right now. Why? Well, according to the butterfly-loving singer, Nicki Minaj threw threats at her during their argument when she walked off set. Carey said she and staff members on heard Minaj go to the back and say, “If I had a gun, I would shoot that b***h.”

Of course, Carey told Barbara that she feels that nothing will come from the threats and she thinks that Minaj was speaking from a place of anger. She says she has her concerns about how the two will work together in the future, but for the sake of the show and the job she signed up for, she plans to move forward. Nicki also said that the ladies had to sit down and talk about what happened with staff members to hash things out, and during that meeting, Nicki told her “I love you, but we might fight again.” In other words, it sounds like Nicki was asking her to get her diva-tude in check. However, Carey told her, “No we will not,” because she doesn’t want to put up with the drama anymore.

As the ladies continue on filming for the show, we hope there will be no more drama and no more huge attempts by FOX to get views by  having these women nitpick at one another. After hearing all the different details about what happened, I’m not on anybody’s side–probably because I couldn’t care less about “American Idol” at this point. Seriously, I stopped watching once I realized the winners were all starting to look the same: white men with guitars…

But if you were wondering why the women actually fell out in the first place, Walters told the audience that Mariah said it all started when Nicki criticized something Mariah said to a contestant that she found to be rude–but did so in front of the contestant. With big egos, you know how it goes: Never try and put folks on front street in front of other people. Interestingly enough, the ladies of “The View” seemed to spend a lot of time chatting about Nicki’s alleged threats, saying that if she had written her threats as opposed to saying them in front of people, it would have been a federal offense, so she needs to get herself in order.

I guess so Barbara… But here’s to just hoping these ladies can be civil to one another and make this money! Besides, being uber-diva is so ’90s…

*Once clips from today’s episode drop, we’ll be sure to post them and update you.*

Here’s the clip:

And check out what Minaj had to say via Twitter today:

What do you think of Carey’s comments to Barbara Walters?

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Source: WENN

Whoopi, Whoopi, Whoopi.

Whenever Ann Coulter is around you know an argument is sure to pop off. Add Whoopi Goldberg and the rest of the ladies of “The View” to the mix and you have a full-blown case of fireworks. Yesterday, the always controversial republican stopped by the daytime talk show to discuss her new book, “Mugged,” but what Whoopi, Sherri, and Joy really wanted to know was why she always has something ridiculous to say about black people in her attempt to discredit democrats.

Ann had barely gotten through four sentences before Whoopi had to interrupt her and plainly ask what I’m sure 99% of viewers were wondering: ”What are you talking about?”

“Oh you know what, hold up Ms. Coulter, please stop. Please stop,” Whoopi added. “If you are going to talk about race, at least, at least, know what you’re talking about.”

Coulter then asked, “What Don’t I Know,” to which Whoopi replied:

“Well tell me what you know about being black. Your facts are a little shaky. I mean, you’re saying that because liberals have abandoned black people now—what? I don’t get it. I don’t understand.”

And that was just the beginning. Before long, Joy, Sherri, and even Barbara had to ask Ann what the heck her purpose is — in life. What’s even more hilarious than the bickering is the fact that Elizabeth left her girl all out there to fend for herself. Ain’t no love for a republican on “The View.” Check out the clips if you didn’t see her appearance yesterday. What do you think?

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