In a recent sitdown, former co-hosts of The View – Meredith Viera, Star Jones, Joy Behar and Debbie Matenopoulos – reunited to celebrate the show’s 25th anniversary. During the chat, former panelist Meredith Viera revealed that she and her fellow colleagues were frustrated they couldn’t be fully honest about Star Jones’ much-publicized weight loss.
Jones, one of the original hosts of The View, underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2003.
While Jones attributed her weight loss to diet and exercise, she admitted to the procedure in 2007. As a result, her fellow co-hosts, particularly Viera and Joy Behar, were left frustrated.
"We were worried and we were also kind of, to be honest, a little bit angry about the dialogue because we felt, this isn't honest," recalled Vieira. "We purported to be the honest women on this show, and we stopped being totally honest with each other, which is not good."
“She was in tremendous denial and we had to pretend it was something other than it was,” Behar added. “We didn’t like that. We were told, ‘Well you have to be an actress,’ and it’s like, ‘We don’t get paid to be an actress.’
Despite their frustrations, Jones was able to reflect back on the situation with a sense of positivity.
“My greatest achievement is that I’m healthier now than I have been in my whole life,” Jones said.
Watch the original hosts of The View reunite below.
