Jenny McCarthy says her time on The View took turns that she didn’t expect, explaining how she came to believe that Barbara Walters may have been in the early stages of dementia.
The actress, 52, appeared on the daytime talk show from 2013 to 2014 and has previously claimed she had a ‘miserable’ time during her stint.
Recalling her experience on the latest episode of Maria Menounos’ Heal Squad podcast, the TV personality explained that she had been brought in to speak about pop culture and help ‘lighten up’ the long-running show.
However, she claims that the producers then had a change of direction and decided to focus on politics due to a moment she shared with Barbara.
She recalled how she had mentioned something about Katy Perry, who Barbara Walters had ‘just interviewed’ for a special.
But when the Teenage Dream hitmaker singer was named, Jenna claimed her that Barbara had asked, ‘Who’s Katy Perry?’
Jenny McCarthy says her time on The View took turns that she didn’t expect, explaining how she came to believe that Barbara Walters may have been in the early stages of dementia
The actress, 52, appeared on the daytime talk show from 2013 to 2014 and has previously claimed she had a ‘miserable’ time during her stint
Jenna then claimed: ‘It was the first sign that I realized that Barbara was suffering from beginning stages of dementia. I was like, “Oh s**t.”
‘It was literally not even a week into the show. They were like, “We’re flipping it. There’s no more pop culture. We’re going back to politics.” [Barbara] knew politics but she didn’t know pop culture.’
The View icon Barbara retired as a co-host in 2014 after 16 seasons.
It has never been confirmed if Barbara was diagnosed with dementia before she eventually passed away in December 2022 at the age of 93.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Barbara Walter’s representatives for comment.
Back in 2019, Jenny made headlines thanks to similar claims she shared in Ladies Who Punch: Inside Story of ‘The View.’
She told author Ramin Setoodeh that Barbara Walters constantly yelled at her.
At the time, Jenny explained: ‘Imagine a woman like Barbara Walters. It’s her last year and she doesn’t want to leave. Think about that. And I’m the new b***h there.’
Jenny claims that the producers then had a change of direction from pop culture to politics due to a moment she shared with Barbara
Jenny recalled talking about Katy Perry – who Barbara Walters had ‘just interviewed’ for a special. But Barbara had asked, ‘Who’s Katy Perry?’
The former model claims that Barbara, who was 83 at the time, still had good energy but she had complicated emotions as she grappled with the idea she’d be forgotten.
On one episode, Jenny recalled talking about Katy Perry dating John Mayer when she saw ‘Barbara’s face with her big saucer eyes look at me.’
‘Then we went to a commercial. She said, “Who is it that you’re talking about and why are you bringing her up?” I’m, like, “That’s Katy Perry. You interviewed her last week!”‘
Again the actress claimed that within a matter of days, she was told that she would no longer be able to do pop culture because Walters didn’t know who the people were.
Jenny said she was instructed to talk about politics instead, which she says she knew nothing about.
‘I panicked because I don’t consider myself a political person,’ she admitted. ‘My controversy is in vaccines. I know I’m not talking about that every day.
‘Now I had to figure out, “Am I coming out as a Republican or a Democrat? Where do I stand on all the social issues and political issues?”‘
Jenny then opened up about a ‘tampon incident’ where she claimed that Barbara had came to her dressing room visibly upset about something she had seen in the bathroom.
Jenna then claimed: ‘It was the first sign that I realized that Barbara was suffering from beginning stages of dementia. I was like, “Oh s**t”‘
‘Jenny, there’s a tampon floating in the toilet and it’s disgusting,’ Barbara reportedly said.
‘I don’t have my period. It’s not mine,’ Jenny responded.
‘Do something about it!’ Walters yelled, according to McCarthy, who said she eventually went into the bathroom and flushed the tampon.
‘Finally I said, “I’ll take care of it. I’ll take one for the team and I’ll flush it.”‘
Jenny also said there were at least 50 times when Walters would even ask her to change her clothes before they went on air.
‘Barbara would check out what I was wearing. If she didn’t agree with it, or it didn’t complement her outfit, I had to change,’ she recalled.
‘Mind you, she doesn’t look at anyone’s clothes but mine,’ Jenny said. ‘I’d go, “Barbara, you’re wearing your own clothes.”‘