‘They Try To Keep Her Away’: ‘Agitated’ Barbara Walters' Caretakers Stop Legendary Anchor From Watching The News To Avoid Outbursts As Health Problems Worsens
Sep. 28 2022, Published 8:00 p.m. ET
Stricken with advanced dementia TV icon Barbara Walters is a prisoner in her own apartment and kept from watching news broadcasts because they upset her too much, RadarOnline.com has learned.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Walters, 93, has been spending her final days inside her New York apartment being taken monitored by caregivers.
Fans voiced concern this week after The View gave Walters a shoutout on her birthday, but the famous newswoman failed to make an appearance or call in.
Sources said the news legend spends most of her days in bed, has difficulty recognizing her caretakers, and rarely has lucid moments.
“Barbara is just a shadow of herself,” revealed a source. “She often doesn’t remember what day it is, or who her famous friends and colleagues are.”
The only thing that rouses Barbara are news broadcasts, according to insiders, who reveal the former Today co-host and ABC Evening News anchor files into a frenzy thinking she should be at work when she seems them!
“When the news comes on, Barbra gets extremely agitated because she’s convinced, she’s supposed to be there reporting the stories!” an insider snitched.
“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.”
As RadarOnline.com has reported, the reclusive journalist retired from The View in 2014 and slipped out of the spotlight.
Once a globe-trotting social butterfly, Barbara hobnobbed with movie stars and interviewed every sitting American president and first lady since Richard Nixon.
She was often out on the town, enjoying Broadway shows and five-star New York restaurants, but she hasn’t been photographed in public or seen outside since 2016.
Barbara’s dementia is so advanced that sources said she didn’t recognize her former co-host Whoopi Goldberg when she came to visit.
In 2021, in a rare moment of clarity, Barbara told her staff she wanted to arrange a party for her birthday, revealed an insider. She also instructed her caretakers to invite some of her famous pals, including Elizabeth Taylor and former ABC co-anchor Hugh Downs, who are both dead.
“Barbara had a burst of energy and wanted to make plans, but by the next day, it was forgotten, the source spilled. Insider said they fear her rapid decline suggests she won’t last the year.