NEWS'Extremely Agitated' Barbara Walters' Caretakers Stop Her From Watching News Broadcasts To Prevent Outbursts
Barbara Walters has been banned from watching news broadcasts in her own home for fear it will trigger further outbursts.
Walters, who is suffering from dementia, has been spending her days in her New York City apartment being taken care of and monitored by caregivers. Despite the news being the only thing that rouses The View alum, as she rarely has lucid moments, claimed an insider, her caregivers restrict her from watching broadcasts.
"When the news comes on, Barbra gets extremely agitated because she’s convinced, she’s supposed to be there reporting the stories!" explained a source. "It takes a great deal of time and effort for her caregivers to calm her down. So, they try to keep her away from the TV to avoid upsetting her."
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Other than the news, the reclusive journalist — who slipped out of the spotlight in 2014 after stepping back from the beloved chat show — often has trouble recognizing her caretakers, as well as her former colleagues, including ex-cohost Whoopi Goldberg when she once came to visit.
“Barbara is just a shadow of herself,” explained a source. “She often doesn’t remember what day it is, or who her famous friends and colleagues are.”
The former Today co-host and ABC Evening News anchor was known for being a social butterfly, having rubbed elbows with movie stars and interviewed every sitting American president and first lady since Richard Nixon. From enjoying fancy five-star New York restaurants to Broadway shows, she was often photographed taking on the city streets in iconic fashion up until 2016 — when she was last seen in public.
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As her memory continues to worsen, an insider revealed she requested that her caretakers arrange a birthday party for her last year and invite famous pals, including Elizabeth Taylor and former ABC co-anchor Hugh Downs, who are both dead.
Shortly after her unlikely request, "it was forgotten" the next day, said the source, who candidly suggested there is fear that she won't last the year given her rapid decline.
This year for her birthday, Goldberg sent the 93-year-old some love with a touching shoutout on the Monday, September 26, episode of The View. "To the one and only Barbara Walters, who had a birthday yesterday, we wanna say, 27 never looked so good!" Goldberg joked in the recently aired episode.
Radar reported on Walters' declining health.
