Barbara Walters Regrets Ricky Martin Interview

By PopEater Staff Posted Mar 9th 2010 07:05AM

Looking back on her past interviews, Barbara Walters regrets trying to force singer Ricky Martin to open up about his sexuality in a 2000 interview and reveals that her questioning may have ended his career. "In 2000, I pushed Ricky Martin very hard to admit if he was gay or not, and the way he refused to do it made everyone decide that he was," she told The Toronto Star. "A lot of people say that destroyed his career, and when I think back on it now, I feel it was an inappropriate question."

During the 2000 interview, Walters tells him, "You know, you could stop these rumors. You could say, as many artists have, 'Yes I am gay,' or you could say, 'No I'm not,' or you could leave it, as you are, ambiguous. I don't want to put you on the spot, but it's in your power to do it."

The 'Livin' La Vida Loca' star is a single dad to twin sons and does not comment publicly on his sexuality.

Tags: barbara walters, ricky martin, the view

Comments

(149)

Tuesday 09 March

By charlie

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Barbara Walters is a pathetic trashball journalist, always looking for selfpromotion at the expense of others.

By Wendell

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Most of the professional snooper class stands behind a woman's total right to privacy, but not apparently a man's. If Walter's overzealous digging ended Ricky's career, she ought to send him a check for a million bucks or so with a note saying, "Sorry I ended your career, please take good care of your sons", Barb. What good does worrying about it now do if she won't do that?

By ctpicman

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Bwabwa Walters "feels" it was wrong. Maybe that's her problem. Bwabwa, stopping "feeling" and start thinking! What a ditz!

By Jeffery

Ricky Martin is a classy guy. Bless him for just trying to protect a little of his privacy. Barbara Walters is a journalist. I can't really fault her for posing a question.

Wednesday 10 March

By PAUL

Barbara,
Don't give youself so much credit. Do you really think that you hold that much power that your words in an interview would be the reason for someone's career taking a nose dive? Give me a break. You're good but you're not God woman.

By m.rosa

Ricky Martin is considered a major star in the world of Latin Pop. He rose to fame as a member of the Latin American boy band Menudo, after which he became a solo artist in 1990. I think that Barbara Walter is a little bit confused about the popularity of this actor around the world.

By Sunshine1123

Didn't BW just do an interview with Lady GaGa recently and press her on the same issues ? Even asking GaGa to respond to rumors that she was half man - half woman ?

Regret, my pa-too-ty ! BW lives for this stuff!

And why is it that she cares so much about who other people are having sex with ????

By henry

Barbara has NO talent and those kind are always jealous !!! Stand corrected, I've heard she gives good BJ's

By Kay Miller

Barbara Walters is much too old now. She should just retire
from everything including "The View" and go off and enjoy the
years she has left.

By janna nikkola

Barbara Wawa's regrets 10 years after the fact are far too little and much too late. Why did she think that he or anyone else owed it to her or any journalist or any other person to discuss his sexuality on national television? What one does in the privacy of his own home is no one's business and no one has the right to publicly humiliate him into discussing something this personal. I wish someone would force her to discuss her cosmetic surgery, which she denies and see how it feels to be put on the spot. Let me see ..... why do we hate Barbara Wawa? Let me count the ways: we're tired of listening to her speech impediment; we're tired of seeing her tired old face and would much prefer to see a younger, prettier face than an old, ugly one; we're tired of the way she thinks her subjects owe it to her to discuss their personal lives on the air -- what do they owe her anyway? It's time for her to retire and get off the air and go to wherever old hags go when no one wants them or wants to see or hear from them.

By wowvirgo

Personally I don't like Barbara Walters and I don't care to watch her interrogate anyone in her "interviews". Barbara needs to understand that not everything in someone's life MUST be public knowledge. I wish someone would have outted her when she was having the affair when she was younger. Then she would have gotten a dose of her own medicine. I doubt very much if she would like someone to deeply question her life and/or hound her everywhere she goes. One bit of advice Barbara, STOP thinking you ARE ALL THAT!!!!! You are NOT!!!!!! I think you're past retirement age, aren't you? Hint, Hint.

By Perry Miller

Barbara Walters has lost her mind if she thinks she ended Ricky Martin's career because of a question he choose not to answer, who said his career was over? She needs to mirror her entire apartment and walk around looking at herself and shamelessly promote herself because I for one am tired seeing her doing it on television.

By james

Barbara probably DID end his career, because in those days it mattered what his sexuality was. She owes him another interview and public apology. That would set the record STRAIGHT.

By Joel Kent

Let's be realistic Barbara Walters does not have the capabilities to ruin anyones career other than possibly a domestic that works in her home by firing them, oh well that could be a good thing. She knew the question was inappropiate at the time she asked it but the media who*#E in her made her do it.
Look back at her life she is hardly a saint to be holding anyone to any standards. She like many others in her profession have simple existances but live large through the lives of others that really have entertainment careers. Ricky Martin is not my favorite entertainer but none the less he deserves respect and some level of personal privacy. But again Barbara did not ruin anything for this young man I am certain he has money in the bank and food on his table so her little foray into bad behavior in 2002 is really meaningless at this point she is trying to take something that she did that was in poor taste and use it again to stir and exhausted career of hers. And as far as she being tired of her "special" interviews, not nearly as tired as we all were. So good luck Ba Ba Wa Wa from all of us who are glad to see less of you on network television.

By VC

How rude of Barbara to ask questions just to score a rating at someone else's expense,...shame on you... just as bad as Perez Hilton! Thats why I wont watch The View, because of the loud mouths on the show who think they are God!

By Maria

Lets leave everyone's sexuality out of the mix...

By ralibbey

Walters is now and has always been a slime-ball liberal reporter. What else do you need to know about her? And to think the folks leaning right are call the bigots and racists.

By M. Re

I was a Ricky Martin fan, but then saw an interview where he state that he had not ever registered with the Selective Service and what was the US going to do --not allow him to be a mailman. I could believe that he said that, but he did. And I lost all respect for him. I had to register for Selective Service, as well as every other male. Why does he think that he is above us all. Shame of him!

By sjg

If Ricky was really super talented and had music people wanted to hear, all the rumors in the world wouldn't have ended/derailed his career. The fact is, his popularity was mostly predicated on him shaking his bon-bon. Live by the sword, die by the sword.

By Eric

Why do people insist on knowing if male stars are Gay or straight. But, female stars, such as Queen Latifah are never asked this question?

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