"America’s Grand Inquisitor"
December 31, 2022 6:03 AM Subscribe
Grew up with Barbara Walters. •
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 6:30 AM on December 31, 2022
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 6:30 AM on December 31, 2022
So did Corey Feldman.
posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 6:40 AM on December 31, 2022 [12 favorites]
posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 6:40 AM on December 31, 2022 [12 favorites]
She asked questions that seemed shockingly rude sometimes -- but really were "what all America wants me to ask" (as she said).
The "Today" show ran a supercut of her dropping these lines on people across the decades, and a couple of them still made me wince a little, like when she asked Lady Bird Johnson about her husband's reputation as *cough* "a lady's man."
posted by wenestvedt at 6:48 AM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
The "Today" show ran a supercut of her dropping these lines on people across the decades, and a couple of them still made me wince a little, like when she asked Lady Bird Johnson about her husband's reputation as *cough* "a lady's man."
posted by wenestvedt at 6:48 AM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
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Sadly, some of her questions did not age well, and seemed kinda terrible even at the time. ie Corey Feldman, Dolly Parton etc.
posted by greenhornet at 7:01 AM on December 31, 2022 [9 favorites]
Sadly, some of her questions did not age well, and seemed kinda terrible even at the time. ie Corey Feldman, Dolly Parton etc.
posted by greenhornet at 7:01 AM on December 31, 2022 [9 favorites]
They weren't just terrible - she consistently sucked up to a celebrity system in the interest of advancing her career.
Her responses to Feldman (CW: pedophilia) should have been the finish of it all but it was too early. We just didn't understand at the time.
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:05 AM on December 31, 2022 [14 favorites]
Her responses to Feldman (CW: pedophilia) should have been the finish of it all but it was too early. We just didn't understand at the time.
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:05 AM on December 31, 2022 [14 favorites]
Gilda Radner on SNL - Baba Wawa Signs Off
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posted by snuffleupagus at 7:15 AM on December 31, 2022 [9 favorites]
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posted by snuffleupagus at 7:15 AM on December 31, 2022 [9 favorites]
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posted by Joey Michaels at 7:21 AM on December 31, 2022
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:21 AM on December 31, 2022
I can't say I liked her reporting much but she kicked doors open that had previously never admitted women.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:33 AM on December 31, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:33 AM on December 31, 2022 [7 favorites]
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posted by May Kasahara at 7:44 AM on December 31, 2022
posted by May Kasahara at 7:44 AM on December 31, 2022
It’s kind of funny that this post refers to her as a Grand Inquisitor when the next post down is literally about a member of the Spanish Inquisition.
posted by adamrice at 8:11 AM on December 31, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by adamrice at 8:11 AM on December 31, 2022 [9 favorites]
A pioneering trailblazer, in the field of something that isn't always good.
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posted by box at 8:19 AM on December 31, 2022
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posted by box at 8:19 AM on December 31, 2022
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posted by gentlyepigrams at 8:35 AM on December 31, 2022
posted by gentlyepigrams at 8:35 AM on December 31, 2022
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posted by JoeXIII007 at 8:53 AM on December 31, 2022
posted by JoeXIII007 at 8:53 AM on December 31, 2022
I’ll never forgive her for trying to out Ricky Martin. Her interviewing style was inappropriate even then and has aged horrendously.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 9:02 AM on December 31, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 9:02 AM on December 31, 2022 [10 favorites]
RIP to a complicated, trailblazing woman who leaves behind a huge, albeit mixed, legacy. I didn't always agree with what she did or how she handled things (eg. the Feldman thing is horrific) but there's no denying that without her, many women would not have the opportunities they do today.
posted by rpfields at 9:05 AM on December 31, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by rpfields at 9:05 AM on December 31, 2022 [8 favorites]
In my fantasy interview with her I would tell her that if I could be a tree I would be a poplar. Then I would only need u to be popular.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:15 AM on December 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:15 AM on December 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
She was Roy Cohn's beard, there will be no complications in my morning
posted by Brainstorming Time! at 10:16 AM on December 31, 2022 [13 favorites]
posted by Brainstorming Time! at 10:16 AM on December 31, 2022 [13 favorites]
Never liked her, but it's always good to be reminded of the absolute oceans of bullshit professional women had to navigate not very long ago at all. (There's still plenty of bullshit, mind you, but back then 90% of men seem to have been permanently out of pocket.)
posted by praemunire at 10:40 AM on December 31, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 10:40 AM on December 31, 2022 [8 favorites]
it's always good to be reminded of the absolute oceans of bullshit professional women had to navigate not very long ago at all.
Like, for example, having every statement about them open with:
Never liked her
I didn't always agree with what she did or how she handled things
I can't say I liked her reporting much
but...
We've come a long way, baby?
posted by Toddles at 11:06 AM on December 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
Like, for example, having every statement about them open with:
Never liked her
I didn't always agree with what she did or how she handled things
I can't say I liked her reporting much
but...
We've come a long way, baby?
posted by Toddles at 11:06 AM on December 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
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posted by kitten kaboodle at 11:16 AM on December 31, 2022
posted by kitten kaboodle at 11:16 AM on December 31, 2022
What happened to Ratchel Dratch?
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 11:21 AM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 11:21 AM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
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posted by They sucked his brains out! at 11:36 AM on December 31, 2022
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 11:36 AM on December 31, 2022
the absolute oceans of bullshit professional women had to navigate
followed by
Like, for example, having every statement about them open with:
[...]
I didn't always agree with what she did or how she handled things
For the record, my comment opened with "RIP to a complicated, trailblazing woman who leaves behind a huge, albeit mixed, legacy."
Reducing every nuanced discussion about a woman's complicated legacy to some kind of catfight is another drop in that ocean IMHO.
posted by rpfields at 11:37 AM on December 31, 2022 [17 favorites]
followed by
Like, for example, having every statement about them open with:
[...]
I didn't always agree with what she did or how she handled things
For the record, my comment opened with "RIP to a complicated, trailblazing woman who leaves behind a huge, albeit mixed, legacy."
Reducing every nuanced discussion about a woman's complicated legacy to some kind of catfight is another drop in that ocean IMHO.
posted by rpfields at 11:37 AM on December 31, 2022 [17 favorites]
Never liked her
Sorry if I can't be enthusiastic about someone who browbeat a child sexual abuse victim in an interview for having the nerve to come forward.
I'm not going to softpedal another woman's (you know you shouldn't assume that an apparently gender-neutral handle is a man, right?) serious errors or even pretend to like their professional approach just because they are a woman. You can make very bad mistakes or even not do a job well independent of whether you're being mistreated by those around you, as she unquestionably was.
posted by praemunire at 11:39 AM on December 31, 2022 [25 favorites]
Sorry if I can't be enthusiastic about someone who browbeat a child sexual abuse victim in an interview for having the nerve to come forward.
I'm not going to softpedal another woman's (you know you shouldn't assume that an apparently gender-neutral handle is a man, right?) serious errors or even pretend to like their professional approach just because they are a woman. You can make very bad mistakes or even not do a job well independent of whether you're being mistreated by those around you, as she unquestionably was.
posted by praemunire at 11:39 AM on December 31, 2022 [25 favorites]
Whatever will we do without this horrible woman around to give overexposed celebrities fawning tongue-baths?
She was terrible, and we're better off for her being gone for good.
posted by ivanthenotsoterrible at 1:05 PM on December 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
She was terrible, and we're better off for her being gone for good.
posted by ivanthenotsoterrible at 1:05 PM on December 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
She asked questions that seemed shockingly rude sometimes
She asked Britney Spears if she was a virgin on national television. She was part of that abuse, no better than the trash tabloids.
posted by adept256 at 1:23 PM on December 31, 2022 [25 favorites]
She asked Britney Spears if she was a virgin on national television. She was part of that abuse, no better than the trash tabloids.
posted by adept256 at 1:23 PM on December 31, 2022 [25 favorites]
"The producers of The View want to make sure that at least one of Barbara Walters' pallbearers is a conservative." -- Frank Conniff on twitter
posted by valkane at 2:41 PM on December 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by valkane at 2:41 PM on December 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
I never liked her, I felt that she was an annoying interviewer.
She gets some recognition for being the first woman national American TV journalism icon, but she's not a feminist role-model like Oriana Fallaci (who was born in the same year, 1929).
posted by ovvl at 4:40 PM on December 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
She gets some recognition for being the first woman national American TV journalism icon, but she's not a feminist role-model like Oriana Fallaci (who was born in the same year, 1929).
posted by ovvl at 4:40 PM on December 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
Barbara Walters outlived Gilda Radner by 33 years.
posted by scasburn at 6:24 PM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by scasburn at 6:24 PM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
she's not a feminist role-model
I'm glad she blazed a way for feminist women who followed her. Sadly my broader life experience suggests that many women "firsts" aren't very feminist.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 6:26 PM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'm glad she blazed a way for feminist women who followed her. Sadly my broader life experience suggests that many women "firsts" aren't very feminist.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 6:26 PM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
Sadly my broader life experience suggests that many women "firsts" aren't very feminist.
I think the experiences of such women often require them to buy into certain assumptions of the system that make it harder for them to express full solidarity with other women. Either they've been hazed to hell and back and have trauma-bonded with the system, or they are privileged in some way (rich, daughter of famous [x], etc.) that has allowed them to dodge some of the implications of being a woman, or both.
posted by praemunire at 6:42 PM on December 31, 2022 [6 favorites]
I think the experiences of such women often require them to buy into certain assumptions of the system that make it harder for them to express full solidarity with other women. Either they've been hazed to hell and back and have trauma-bonded with the system, or they are privileged in some way (rich, daughter of famous [x], etc.) that has allowed them to dodge some of the implications of being a woman, or both.
posted by praemunire at 6:42 PM on December 31, 2022 [6 favorites]
rip barbara walters thank you for giving us one of the best interview moments of all time
posted by DoctorFedora at 8:16 PM on December 31, 2022
posted by DoctorFedora at 8:16 PM on December 31, 2022
According to LGBTQ Nation: "GLAAD gave Walters an award for television newsmagazine journalism during the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Media Awards. Upon accepting, Walters said, 'You can forget all the Emmys. This means more to me.'"
(This was for the Jazz interviews.)
As for the Ricky Martin interview, LGBTQ Nation says she has since said that this kind of questioning was "one of the big mistakes of her career."
It seems to me that she did harm on queer issues, but felt remorse, admitted fault, and did good for the trans community.
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posted by Flight Hardware, do not touch at 8:50 PM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
(This was for the Jazz interviews.)
As for the Ricky Martin interview, LGBTQ Nation says she has since said that this kind of questioning was "one of the big mistakes of her career."
It seems to me that she did harm on queer issues, but felt remorse, admitted fault, and did good for the trans community.
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posted by Flight Hardware, do not touch at 8:50 PM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
A great interviewer requires great skill. I do not think that she possessed that ability to bring out a person's essential character.
posted by DJZouke at 5:00 AM on January 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by DJZouke at 5:00 AM on January 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
I admit to being a little hard on Barbara Walters. I do not think that she was an evil person. It was just that her style of interviewing turned me off in some ways. RIP
posted by DJZouke at 5:18 AM on January 2, 2023
posted by DJZouke at 5:18 AM on January 2, 2023
we're better off for her being gone for good.
Gravedancing on MeFi still surprises and disappoints me.
posted by fairmettle at 6:21 AM on January 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
Gravedancing on MeFi still surprises and disappoints me.
posted by fairmettle at 6:21 AM on January 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
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