EXCLUSIVE: How Blabbermouth Jenny McCarthy 'Pinpointed' Barbara Walters' Dementia During TV Chat – 'I Was Like, Oh S---!'
Jenny McCarthy has recalled spotting early signs of Barbara Walters' dementia.
April 14 2025, Published 7:30 a.m. ET
Chatterbox Jenny McCarthy can pinpoint the heartbreaking moment she first suspected late news legend Barbara Walters – her co-host on ABC's The View – was "suffering from beginning stages of dementia."
RadarOnline.com can reveal the former Playboy pinup, 52, said she joined the all-gal gabfest for its 17th season in 2013 to be its "pop culture buzzy girl," as show brass claimed they wanted to lighten up the serious daytime staple.
McCarthy said after she made a casual comment about singer Katy Perry – who Barbara had just interviewed – the confused broadcaster asked: "Who's Katy Perry?"
Walters left 'The View' in 2014 after nearly 20 years as its pioneering co-creator.
The blonde said "I was like, 'Oh sh*t.'"
Jenny added: "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 aging journalist left The View in 2014 – nearly two decades after cocreating the talk show with producer pal Bill Geddie – and died eight years later at the age of 93.
Katy Perry's name confused from Walters during a moment that stunned McCarthy.
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No one in the TV icon's camp confirmed that she was experiencing cognitive decline.
But rumors ran rampant during Barbara's final reclusive years in her New York City home.
As for Jenny, her stint on the TV snake pit lasted just one season.
The Masked Singer panelist said: "They want you to fight. I'm not a fighter. I choose the side of peace in any fight."
