‘The View’: Barbara Walters blasts talk of retirement (video)

Is Barbara Walters really going to retire from “The View” upon the end of the show’s season next May? This was the report that was running rampant in the press last week, and the reliability of the sources reporting it seemed to give it a great deal of credence.

However, on Monday morning’s edition of the chat show Walters more or less engaged in an old-fashioned game of wagging her finger at all of the people out there currently buying into the gossip. She started off by seemingly chastising the paparazzi who were waiting outside of her home today (in other words, trying to do their job), and then she proceeded to also tear into the idea that someone other than her could be making the grand retirement announcement:

“There were many reports last week saying that I was retiring from ABC and there was an assumption that I would be making an an announcement today … However, here I am, and I have no announcement to make.”

What was particularly interesting about this segment, though, is that Walters did not actually deny the talk of her retiring at all, and instead just insinuated that we shouldn’t trust any announcement about anyone unless it is made on “The View.” This was done similarly to the wait in which rumors of Elisabeth Hasselbeck exiting the show were handled, with Walters coming out and saying bluntly that it was Elisabeth’s decision to make.

What do you think about the way in which Barbara handled the talk on the show this morning, and does her statement actually make you believe that she is retiring, and is just annoyed that another form of media potentially got the chance to make the announcement first? If you want to read some more news on this matter, you can do so over here.

Photo: ABC, video via Mediaite