It had to be done, Babs! No one better than you to do it!
After last night's final Oscar program, Barbara Walters has become rather reflective of her lengthy career. She was recently asked if there was anything she regretted over her last 1000 years in broadcasting and she admitted that her interview withRicky Martin back in 2000 was a huge regret.
Why? Because like any good reporter, Barbara wanted the facts on his sexuality, but now, she feels her "inappropriate" questions may have caused the end to his then booming career. She explains:
"In 2000, I pushed Ricky Martin very hard to admit if he was gay or not, and the way he refused to do it made everyone decide that he was. A lot of people say that destroyed his career, and when I think back on it now I feel it was an inappropriate question."
We don't happen to agree with you there. The world wanted to know, you asked. There wasn't so much farther he was going to go with his cheesy music anyway. Think about it- is anyone from the pop days of the early 2000's still as big as they were then?
Don't give yourself that much credit. In fact, we imagine he would have had a more lucrative career if he had just admitted the truth during the interview! Can't blame yourself for his closet-dwelling.
What’s that we hear? Is Babs Walters ‘fessing up to tanking Ricky Martin’s pop career?
Walters sat down with the Ricky at the height of his dominance over the Billboard charts and went on a relentless campaign to force Ricky out of the closet. The veteran newswoman, 80, regrets trying to force the “Livin’ La Vida Loca” crooner to open up about his heavily-rumored homosexuality in a 2000 interview. It’s the one interview Barbara regrets in more than 50 year career in journalism, and she fears the “inappropriate” questioning may have had an adverse effect on Martin’s pop career in America.
Ya think?
“In 2000, I pushed Ricky Martin very hard to admit if he was gay or not, and the way he refused to do it made everyone decide that he was. A lot of people say that destroyed his career, and when I think back on it now I feel it was an inappropriate question,” she told The Toronto Star this month.
Martin, who is a single dad to twin sons conceive via surrogate, has never publicly commented on his sexuality.
We think it’s worth mentioning that just because Ricky is no longer a force on the American charts, it doesn’t necessarily mean his career is “over.” The ex-Menudo crooner continues to sell out concerts all over Latin America.
The Ricky Martin Foundation has partnered with Habitat for Humanity to lead an effort to provide long-term housing for the hundreds of thousands displaced victims of the Haitian earthquake. Concerned celebrities from all over the industry have joined forces with the “She Bangs” hitmaker and Habitat for Humanity to create a united call-to-action to raise awareness and funds to rebuild the island, which was devastated by a catastrophic 7.0 earthquake on Jan. 12.
Ricky Martin has banded together with his celeb friends to collect donations for the relief effort in Haiti!
How inspiring!
Writes Martin:
Thank you to those who made the RMFHaiti Video possible
The RMFHaiti Video and our Hardhats for Haiti auction are possible only because of the generosity of the incredible artists who appear in the video and many “behind the scenes” warriors not listed here.
Because of each person’s donations of time, production resources, good will, positive energy and a lot of love, the Ricky Martin Foundation and Habitat for Humanity were able to create a united call-to-action to raise awareness and funds with three goals in mind: Rebuild hope. Rebuild homes. Rebuild Haiti.
Now, we need your help.
Visit www.habitat.org/rmfhaiti to get involved or donate online any amount you can to the RMF/HFH Haiti Recovery Fund.
We're thrilled to exclusively reveal that Emilio and Gloria Estefan will be adapting and RE-RECORDING We Are the World in Spanish to help Haiti relief efforts!!
The new version - titled Somos El Mundo - has been completely translated, and original writer Lionel Richie has given his seal of approval and blessing, claiming it captures the spirit and message of the original.
Ricky Martin keeps it slick as he attends the 2010 Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center on Sunday (January 31) in Los Angeles.
The 38-year-old Puerto Rican pop singer, wearing Dolce & Gabbana, took to the stage with Glee’s Lea Michele to present the award for Best Female Vocal Performance.
On Saturday, Ricky attended a pre-Grammy gala called the Salute To Icons Honoring Doug Morris held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. He wore a black tuxedo, black and gold shirt, scarf and black satin tie all by Dolce & Gabbana.
20+ pictures of Ricky Martin at the Grammy Awards…
Ricky Martin has partnered with Habitat for Humanity to create a new relief fund for victims of the 7.0 earthquake that rocked Haiti earlier this month.
The Ricky Martin Foundation/Habitat for Humanity Haiti Recovery Fund was created this week after the Puerto Rican pop sensation visited the island nation alongside Habitat for Humanity International’s CEO Jonathan Reckford.
The group is taking donations through its website. Contributions will be used to help the organization repair housing for as many families as they can. You may also make a $10 donation by texting ‘RMFHAITI’ to 25383.
“Right now I’m going through a lot of emotions with the things we’ve seen here in Port-au-Prince,” Ricky says in a video blog on the official Habitat website. “But still there’s a lot [of] hope, because there’s a lot of space for healing. Little by little we are gonna start building just like we did in Thailand right after the tsunami… we can do the same. We need your help,” Ricky added. “We can help. Please join us.”
- Jason Schwartzman got married which was probably awesome until everyone kept comparing the reception to Rushmore. [PopEater]
- Nicole Kidman has been reduced to reality television. Have you no tiny heart in your tiny chest, Tom Cruise?! [Lainey Gossip]
- Renee Zellweger isn't bringing Bradley Cooper on the red carpet yet. Though in all fairness, anything more attractive than a zucchini will make her look ugly by comparison. [PopSugar]
- Ricky Martin takes his "Let's Face It, I'm Gay" twins to the beach. [Just Jared]
- Amy Winehouse might be a contestant on the UK version of Dancing with the Stars. I might hate reality TV with the very essence of my being, but I would watch the fuck out of that. I don't care who knows it. [Celebslam]
- Celine Dion is pregnant with an eight-year-old embryo. Looks like Canadian health care ain't so bad after all. (Ignoring the fact she might've had procedure done in U.S. and is super rich.) [Splash News]
- Brooke Hogan bailed out of a concert in New York because she's stressed out about what people think. Really? I figured she'd be adjusted to the penis theories by now. [The Blemish]
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