Star Wars - with Barbara!

It's Star Jones vs. Barbara Walters in an all-out war -- and only "Extra" has Barbara firing back today at the explosive new comments Star just made to Us Weekly. Star said, "It is a sad day when an icon like Barbara Walters, in the sunset of her life, is reduced to... speaking negatively against me all for the sake of selling a book. It speaks to her true character." In Barbara's new memoir, she revealed that she and the other ladies of "The View" covered up Star's gastric bypass surgery -- a secret pact Walters now regrets. "Doing that was a mistake... we all did, in a sense, lie for her," says Walters, "we didn't want to out her. She was very adamant about not wanting to admit it." Although Jones is also hissing to the magazine about the TV legend's affair with a married senator, Barbara is refusing to exchange insults with Star -- for whom she feels compassion. "She's going through a difficult time and I wish her well," says Walters, "I will never forget Star's contribution to 'The View.'" [link]