Barbara Walters‘ mentee and former co-host on The View Debbie Matenopoulos has shared a special insight into what it was really like being under the wing of the renowned journalist.
Debbie, now 50, was one of the original panelists on the ABC show The View, which was created by celebrated broadcaster Walters in 1997 and is still airing today.
She was cast on the popular daytime show after a chance encounter with the late journalist, who invited her to audition for the panel and, after impressing executives, became the youngest co-hosts on the program at the age of 22.
Speaking exclusively to Royale, Debbie, shed light on what it was like having Walters as her mentor and revealed that, although there were times she was ‘as tough as nails,’ she ultimately learned everything there was to know about the industry from her.
‘I mean, imagine sitting next to probably the most influential and most well renowned female journalist in history and probably the best female interviewer in history, and her being your teacher and also being your boss,’ she said.
‘And also, you represent her and this was the choice she made. You have big shoes to fill and a lot to live up to, and you don’t want to mess it up, but inevitably you do because you’re 22. It’s a lot of responsibility and it’s overwhelming.
‘Overwhelming but and scary and fun.’
There were times, Debbie recalled, that she was reprimandedlive on television by Walters for her misbehaving – although viewers probably wouldn’t have noticed it.
Debbie Matenopoulos has shared a special insight into what it was really like being under Barbara Walters’ wing
Walters, who died in December 2022 aged 93, helped Debbie get her breakout co-hosting on The View
‘She was spunky, she was funny, she could tell the funniest jokes and also kind of say the most cutting things,’ she said.
‘She was just hysterical and very understated, but she’d do it like such a lady. And she was kind.
‘I mean, look, there were times where she was so tough on me she would pinch me under the table, because I was a child!
‘They would be having serious conversations and I’d say, “Oh my gosh, you’ll never guess what I did this weekend.”
‘And they’d be like, “shut up.”‘
Debbie was sensationally fired from The View in 1999, just two years after she joined the show’s original line-up alongside Walters, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, and Joy Behar.
She was only 22 when she joined the show and was still finding her footing as a young adult in the bright lights of New York City – going out partying in the middle of the week and coming to filming a little worse to wear.
‘I wouldn’t change it for the world,’ Debbie reflected before she quickly quipped: ‘I mean, maybe I’d change a few things, like perhaps not going to the clubs and then going to work, maybe to change that part, but the rest no.’
‘She was just hysterical and very understated… and she was kind,’ Debbie told Royale in an exclusive interview. ‘I mean, look, there were times where she was so tough. She would pinch me under the table!’
The View’s original co-hosts Star Jones, Joy Behar, Meredith Vieira, Debbie Matenopoulos and Barbara Walters
Walters says farewell to live daily television with her final co-host appearance on The View in 2014
Despite her dramatic exit from The View, Debbie maintained a friendship with Walters for many years after, and there was no bad blood between them.
‘I learned everything I know about journalism from Barbara,’ she reflected. ‘I mean, truly. I went to NYU journalism school, and it was nothing compared to sitting next to her every day and she was great, she’s tough as nails but she was also amazing.
‘She also had this like sort of empathy for people and sympathy for people because she had a hard life growing up and I don’t know that everybody knows that. I mean, now that the Hulu documentary is going to be out and you’ll see.’
Additionally, Debbie said that Walters, who died in December 2022 aged 93, paved the way for women in the industry during her impressive six-decade career while also battling a string of private family troubles.
‘There wasn’t a place for women back then. She was the first woman to be an anchor on the nightly news,’ Debbie continued.
The View’s original co-hosts Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Joy Behar and Debbie pictured in 2016
Debbie’s tribute to Walters following news of her death in December 2022
‘Her sister had Down’s Syndrome and she took care of her. Her father was a gambler, and it was up and down all the time. They were rich, they’re poor, they’re rich, they’re poor.
‘She had to support her family, and I don’t think people really know that. They don’t give her the credit that she deserves.
‘And she had to fight against the fact that not only did they not want her there, she was a woman, but she said “I was never the prettiest. I had the speech impediment that everyone made fun of.”
‘Yet she was like, “no, you do not define me. I define me and I’ll show you what I’m capable of.” And that’s what she taught me and what she taught all of us.’
Debbie, who has spent the last year writing her new cookbook, Greek-ish, added: ‘I think she represents so much for any woman in journalism or any woman in front of the camera.’
