Sitting next to Elizabeth Vargas on “The View” as she opened up about her battle with alcoholism, Barbara Walters told Vargas that her addiction was well-known among colleagues.
“We knew…I’m very fond of Elizabeth and proud of her, but we knew. It was public at that point,” Walters said during a discussion about Vargas’ attempt to keep her struggle secret from her colleagues.
“No it wasn’t,” Vargas awkwardly responded generating a moment of silence on the panel.
Page Six reports Walters later called Vargas to apologize.
The two women told Page Six there’s nothing to the on-air frostiness.
Barbara told us, “I love Elizabeth and have great admiration for her. I never would have deliberately said anything to hurt her, and I called to tell her that.” Elizabeth added, “This is silly! Barbara is a colleague and a friend.”
The video after the jump.