During a revealing podcast interview, the former ABC anchor likens her working scene with the renowned journalist and Diane Sawyer to what Tonya Harding did to Nancy Kerrigan.
- Dec 18, 2020
AceShowbiz - Barbara Walters is not letting Connie Chung's past rivalry comments slide. Shortly after Chung candidly spoke about her time on ABC, Walters' team responded to her statement that compared their behind-the-scenes tensions to that of Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan's.
"Barbara paved the way for every female journalist that came after her," a representative for the former host on "The View" said in a statement to TMZ. The rep further stressed that the 91-year-old retired journalist "has been a tremendous supporter for all women."
Chung opened up about her working experience with Walters and fellow former colleague Diane Sawyer when speaking on Andrew Goldman's "The Originals" podcast for Los Angeles Magazine. "When I got to ABC News, I joined with both Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer there and I thought: 'Oh, this is going to be great. It'll be three women who get along,' " she began recalling.
"Both Diane and Barbara were in the same sort of arena of trying to get these big interviews. So when I tried to go after them, I was told I could not," she went on. "That Barbara and Diane were the only ones who could compete for the interview and I had to stand down. And I said: 'Really?' " She then added that the situation was "not unlike what Tonya Harding did to Nancy Kerrigan."
Walters and Sawyer were not the only ones Chung went after in the interview. The wife of Maury Povich also dished on her unpleasant encounter with Hugh Grant for her cameo in HBO's series "The Undoing". Describing the actor as "one of those British rumpled fellows," she added, "He was not very friendly."
"I had interviewed him right after 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' for his next movie. So when I saw him, I said, 'Oh, hi. I interviewed you … do you remember?' And he said, 'No,' " the 74-year-old recounted. "So, I went, 'OK' … I figured he was getting into his acting zone, whatever that is."
Chung additionally spilled on the time she hit a nerve with Grant and director Susanne Bier. "When Hugh Grant sat down, he was looking all rumpled," she recalled. "His tie was askew, and I am very OCD. So I said: 'Hugh, straighten up your tie.' And he goes and fixes it. And then one collar was outside of his suit. And I went: 'Hugh, fix that.' "
"And then he was looking like Rodney Dangerfield. He should sit on the back of - like in 'Broadcast News' - sit on the back of your jacket, so that it's nice and tidy,' " the former CBS Evening News co-anchor continued. She then noted that she got "an evil eye" from Bier when Grant snapped at her before she gave him another tip.
