Barbara Walters Had the Hots for Richard Pryor and Colin Powell, Sherri Shepherd Claims
Richard Pryor and Barbara Walters in 1980
Barbara Walters got hot and bothered by several famous men, Sherri Shepherd revealed on Sherri on Tuesday.
During a sitdown with The View co-host Joy Behar, Shepherd revealed that Behar would repeat stories Shepherd told her in confidence, including some she'd heard about Walters' love life.
"I never told this before, but I'm [going] to tell you," she told the audience. "I told Joy that I had run into Paul Mooney, and Paul Mooney had said that he caught Barbara Walters with Richard Pryor."
Related: Barbara Walters' Last Words
The late Mooney was an iconic comedian and writer for Pryor.
"What do you mean?" Behar asked. "She slept with Richard Pryor?"
"Yes, that's what Paul Mooney said," Shepherd recalled.
Shepherd said that she had sworn Behar to secrecy when she first told her about the affair, but that the next day, Behar spilled the beans.
“The next day, Barbara walks in and you go ... something like, ‘So, you’re schlepping Richard Pryor, huh?’” Shepherd told Behar, who said she'd actually asked Walters if she was "schtupping" the comedian.
Related: Barbara Walters' Net Worth At the Time of Her Death
Shepherd also claimed that Walters, who died in December 2022 at age 93, had a crush on a major geopolitical figure who'd guest on the show as well.
Behar and Shepherd said that Walters would "cozy up" to former Secretary of State Colin Powell whenever he'd join the panel.
Related: Barbara Walters' Relationship With Her Daughter Revealed
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As for Walters' type, Behar joked, "She liked a brother."
"She was going out with a Black senator," Behar added, referencing former Massachusetts Sen. Edward Brooke, a relationship that Walters mentioned in her memoir.
Walters was married four times throughout her life, first to Robert Henry Katz from 1955 to 1957, then to Lee Guber from 1963 to 1976. She married Lorimar Television CEO Merv Adelson in 1981, divorcing him in 1984. They remarried two years later, but split for a final time in 1992. In her memoir, Walters said she and Adelson remained friends long after their romantic relationship ended.
