Barbara Walters on Star Jones

In promoting her new book Audition: A Memoir , BARBARA WALTERS engaged in a war of words with her former "View" co-host STAR JONES this week, but when she spoke to our own LARA SPENCER , she took the high road. "In many ways, Star was her own worst enemy," Barbara tells Lara. "I have affection for Star, I have respect for Star. I have empathy for what she's going through [with her current divorce] -- she went into that marriage with such an open heart. We have been in touch for the past year, and I wish her everything good, and I cannot forget her contribution to 'The View.'" Available now, Audition chronicles Barbara's struggles and triumphs as a tenacious woman in a male-dominated broadcast journalism field, along with her sometimes racy private life -- including a secret affair with married African-American U.S. Senator EDWARD BROOKE -- and the anguished choices she was forced to make to balance career and family. (link)