Getty "Real Housewives of New Jersey" alum Caroline Manzo.
Caroline Manzo revealed that she was snubbed by a legendary newswoman when she appeared on her daytime talk show.
In a May 2023 interview with Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” podcast, the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” alum revealed that news legend Barbara Walters ignored her backstage when she was a guest on “The View” years ago. Not only that, but Manzo was further offended when she realized that Walters greeted another guest who was plugging a book about being a mistress.
Here’s what you need to know:
Caroline Manzo Claimed Barbara Walters Bypassed Her Backstage
GettyBarbara Walters and Caroline Manzo
Manzo was a cast member on the first five seasons of RHONJ before starring in her own spinoff, “Manzo’d With Children.” Walters created “The View” in 1997 and remained on the panel of the ABC talk show until her retirement in 2014. She died in 2022.
While speaking with Page Six, Manzo recalled her guest appearance on “The View” years ago. “Barbara Walters was there at the time, and she walks into the green room next door to mine to say hello to a guest and ‘thank you for coming on the show,’ and I’m like, ‘Barbara’s coming in! Here comes Barbara!’” Manzo said. But she added that Walters “never showed” in her room. Manzo became ever more upset when she realized the guest that Walters did greet was a “woman that wrote a book on being a professional mistress.”
“You can’t be bothered, but look who you’re saying hello to, and you’re not coming to say hello to me next door? And I was offended by that,” Manzo said.
The former RHONJ star also revealed that Walters and the other “View” hosts questioned her teen son Chris’s idea to open a combination strip club/car wash. Manzo clapped back to ask the judgmental panel what they were trying to say about her son, whom she defended by calling him “ambitious.”
It is unclear when Manzo was a guest on “The View,” as the appearance is not listed on her IMDb page.
Barbara Walters Grilled Another Real Housewives Star
GettyCamille Grammer
Manzo isn’t the only Real Housewives star who had an issue with Walters and “The View.” In 2011, “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Camille Grammer was a guest on the ABC chatfest and things got awkward. The appearance came amid Grammer’s messy divorce from actor Kelsey Grammer and after it was found that he had an affair with Kayte Walsh. On RHOBH, Camille Grammer had spoken openly about the lack of intimacy in her marriage to the “Frasier” star, and Walters wasted no time in digging into her claims.
According to the Huffington Post, Walters asked the RHOBH star point blank about her sexless marriage: “Why were you surprised that he wanted someone else?” she asked.
“There’s so much more to marriage than sex,” Grammer said.
“Why weren’t you having sex?” Walters shot back, prompting Grammer to reply, “You’d have to ask him that.”
“Well I thought I’d ask you because you’re the one that said it,” Walters said, before asking again: “Why would you be surprised that he would look elsewhere?”
The grilling didn’t end there. Walters also questioned rumors that the RHOBH star was stalling the actor’s move for a quickie divorce so he could marry Walsh. She also asked Grammer if she planned to attend her ex-husband’s wedding to his mistress, to which the mom of two replied that would be “awful.”