Former ESPN sportscaster Sage Steele revealed on a recent episode of The Megyn Kelly Show that the late Barbara Walters allegedly assaulted her backstage on the set of The View. Steele said this incident took place during a 2014 appearance on the show, after they discussed controversial comments she made about former President Barack Obama.
“I was probably about four feet from the wall and the trash can, and Barbara was standing over here in front of me,” Steele said. “She just started to back up toward me and looked at me and got close and elbowed me, and it pushed me back into the wall and the trash can. I was like, ‘What did she just do to me? This 140-year-old woman just tried to like tackle me.'”
Claiming there were witnesses to the assault, she added, “Some of the producers saw it. Whoopi Goldberg saw it. And Whoopi was like, ‘Come here.’ She was great. She pulled me aside in her little area and she’s like, ‘Don’t you let her do it.’ And I’m like, ‘Am I in a movie right now?’ One of the legends in this industry just tried to beat me up!”
A representative for Walters addressed these accusations in an email, telling Variety, “I find this impossible to believe and uncharacteristic of Barbara!”