Barbara Walters Regretted Pushing Ricky Martin To Come Out Before He Was Ready
Image: Images: Facebook
Barbara Walters had one regret of her career and that was pressuring pop singer Ricky Martin to come out.
The late American broadcaster and tv personality questioned Martin on his sexuality and asked him to address rumours that he was gay, back in 2000.
In an interview on The View, Walters stated that she believed it was “important to address the rumours that were swirling around his sexuality.”
Walters asked the Livin’ La Vida Loca artist if he wanted to come out as gay on camera, with questions like “The rumours that talk about your sexual orientation, you must be aware of these? Do they hurt? How do you handle them?”
‘Homosexuality Should Not Be a Problem For Anybody’
At the time Martin responded to her questions on whether they “hurt” by stating that “homosexuality should not be a problem for anybody” and that sexuality was something that “everybody should deal with in their own way.”
Ten years following the interview, Walters spoke to the Toronto Star to address the singular regret across her 29-year-long career.
Of the 93 interviews that she had; Walters expressed deep regret for pressuring Martin to come out at a time when the pop star was not ready.
During the interview, she reflected back on 2000 and said that she “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.”
“A lot of people say that destroyed his career, and when I think back on it now I feel it was an inappropriate question,” Walters added.
Ricky Martin Felt ‘Traumatised’ By Walters Interview
In 2021, the Puerto Rican singer admitted that he was “traumatised” from the television interview with Walters on The View.
During an interview with People magazine for their annual Pride issue, Martin said that he “felt violated” because he “was just not ready to come out.”
“I was very afraid. There’s a little PTSD with that,” Martin said in response to her line of questioning.
Martin reflected on the interview and the pressure to come out, stating, “Well, maybe I would have come out in that interview. It would’ve been great because when I came out, it just felt amazing.”
“When it comes to my sexuality, when it comes to who I am, I want to talk about what I’m made of, about everything that I am. Because if you hide it, it’s a life-or-death situation,” he said.
Martin came out in 2010 via his website, emphasising that continuing to live as he did would only “indirectly diminish the glow” that his kids had been born with.
“Every word that I write in this letter is born out of love, acceptance, detachment and real contentment. Writing this is a solid step towards my inner peace and vital part of my evolution.
I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am,” Martin wrote.
The late Walters passed away in her home in New York at 93 years old on December 30, 2022.
Walters’ representative Cindi Berger made a statement about the journalist at the time, stating, “she lived her life with no regrets. She was a trailblazer, not only for female journalists, but for all women.”
