LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Sage Steele, a former ESPN sportscaster who recently left the network after a legal dispute, has claimed that the late Barbara Walters physically attacked her when she was a guest on 'The View' in 2014.
Steele made the shocking allegation on 'The Megyn Kelly Show' on Thursday, August 17, 2023.
Why did Barbara Walters attack Sage Steele?
Steele said that the incident occurred after she participated in a segment about former President Barack Obama, whom she had criticized Jay Cutler’s podcast for identifying as Black despite having a white mother and an absent Black father.
Steele said that Walters, who was one of the co-hosts and creators of 'The View', approached her in the dark green room and elbowed her into the wall and the trash can.
“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,’” Steele recalled.
Did Whoopi Goldberg witness the 'attack'?
Steele said that some of the producers and Whoopi Goldberg, another co-host of 'The View', witnessed the attack and intervened.
Goldberg reportedly pulled Steele aside and told her not to let Walters do that to her. "She was great. She pulled me aside in her little area and she’s like, 'Don’t you let her do it."
Steele said she was stunned by the behavior of Walters, who was a legend in the industry. “I’m like, ‘Am I in a movie right now?’ One of the legends in this industry just tried to beat me up!” Steele said, the Variety also reported.
Walters died in 2022 at the age of 91. She co-hosted 'The View' for 17 seasons, from 1997 to 2014, and remained an executive producer until her death.
She was known for her interviews with celebrities, world leaders, and politicians.
Steele joined ESPN in 2007 as a television anchor on 'SportsCenter' She was suspended by the network in 2021 for making controversial comments on Cutler’s podcast about COVID-19 vaccinations, how women dress, and Obama’s racial identity.
Steele's free speech lawsuit against ESPN
Steele sued ESPN and its parent company Disney in April 2022 for breach of contract and violation of her free-speech rights.
She alleged that the network retaliated against her by taking away high-profile assignments.
“Having successfully settled my case with ESPN/Disney, I have decided to leave so I can exercise my first amendment rights more freely,” Steele said in a statement on Tuesday.
“I am grateful for so many wonderful experiences over the past 16 years and am excited for my next chapter!" she added.
