Star Jones Reynolds talks about weight-loss surgery, marriage, 'The View' feud
KEVIN D. THOMPSON
The shocking weight loss.
That's all anyone wanted to talk about with Star Jones Reynolds, former co-host of The View.
She shed a whopping 160 pounds over the last four years. But when asked how she got so svelte, all she would say was that she had a "medical procedure." Well, Jones Reynolds finally revealed in Glamour what everyone assumed in the first place - gastric bypass surgery.
Now Jones Reynolds, 45, is talking freely - and candidly - about her lifelong weight woes. That's due in large part because she's also publicizing Star Jones, her new Court TV series debuting today (3 p.m.).
Taking a break from another nerve-wracking rehearsal, Jones Reynolds took a few minutes to chat over the phone about her surgery, her insecurities and why she and Barbara Walters still don't speak.
Question: How are you feeling mentally and physically these days?
Answer: What a wonderful question. I can honestly say I'm healthier than I've ever been in my entire adult life. I am someone who never placed a huge emphasis on health even though when I was 19-years-old I was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor. I found a doctor who actually did operate and cracked my chest open to take out a 1-pound tumor that lodged itself near my heart. You would think that somebody who had gone through a near-death experience would've placed a premium on her health (but) I think I was too arrogant and too naïve and just not knowledgeable (enough) to make it a priority.
Fast-forward 20 years and ... I'm in the best shape I've ever been in. That's physical. Emotionally, I'm on sort of a roller coaster. I look at this as a journey for me. I've gotten to a really wonderful, emotional state where I feel confident enough to talk about the weight-loss journey over the last four years. That is a work-in-progress. I continue to wake up insecure, still worried about what people will think.
Q: Why did you decide to have gastric bypass surgery and what kind of process was that for you to arrive at that decision?
A: I was 5 foot 5 and weighed over 300 pounds. I love Shaquille O'Neal. I'm a huge Miami Heat fan and even a bigger Shaquille fan. I weighed the same amount as my idol. That's not good. At that weight I couldn't breathe. I couldn't walk. I couldn't speak without sounding like I was gasping for air. I couldn't walk a flight of stairs without taking my inhaler. My doctors said you've hit a stage where there are very few options left and we're afraid that if you don't make this decision, you're going to take years off your life.
Q: Have you had any ill effects from the surgery?
A: No, but it's one of the things that scared me the most. The biggest fear was that it wouldn't work. It wasn't like I was someone who had committed to exercise before. I had never hit a ball, thrown a ball or run for a ball my entire life. I was afraid that it might not work and that I couldn't stick to it. That was the most frightening thing.
Q: When you look at yourself in the mirror now, what do you see?
A: It depends on the day, honestly. Some days I see a sleek body. Some days I still see that 307-pound girl who is struggling to find her own identity. Either way, I like who I see now.
Q: What did you do with all of your old clothes?
A: I donated them to Dress For Success. From size 26 to size 12. Over 100 wardrobe boxes of clothes. There are several women walking around with clothes I wore at different stages of my life, including the suit I wore to get my job at The View. There's a lady walking around in a cashmere pantsuit right now and I hope she gets the job.
Q: You've been quoted as saying that being a celebrity can be intoxicating. Can you elaborate?
A: Being a celebrity is not really intoxicating, (but) you can be intoxicated by what a celebrity means in this business, like liking the cameras a little too much, enjoying the attention and forgetting you're only in the public eye because the public wants you there. That was something I was guilty of. I liked the feeling it gave me. That was my high. I don't do drugs. I don't drink to excess. (Now) I don't consider myself a celebrity. I'm a person who uses a public platform, but I use that public platform in a way it's supposed to be used and that's to empower other people.
Q: After getting fired from The View and your very public spat with Barbara Walters, what did you learn about yourself?
A: First, I'd like to say, it wasn't a spat on my part. It really wasn't. I think if you look at what was said and done before and after, there was no back and forth on my part. I just said what occurred to me and I haven't talked about it for the last year. I turned the page and that's the best thing I've learned. When you turn the page, actually turn it. It was one of the greatest experiences of my entire professional career. I worked with the greatest female broadcaster in the business. What I learned about myself was that I'm responsible for my own behavior.
Q: What's your relationship like with Barbara Walters? Have you spoken since you left the show?
A: No, we really haven't. When I said we've turned the page, we both did. And it's OK. We'll grow. And growing sometimes means that relationships change. We just move on and it's OK.
Q: How do you feel about Whoopi being on the show?
A: Oh, I'm thrilled for her. I spoke with her. I think she brings intelligence and diversity to the panel. What you want to do in television is to effect change. There's no other reason to do it if you don't want to influence or cause people to think, discuss and act and I know she's somebody who could do that.
Q: How's married life going?
A: You know what? I'm going to give you my new acronym. When I was in law school, we had to memorize so many things and we would come up with these word games to do it. My word game as it relates to marriage, it is Precious and in order to Protect it, I need to keep it Private. So, it's the three Ps.
Q: What do you miss about being a prosecutor?
A: The biggest thing I miss is the thing I continue to do, which is work with the victims of crime. There is nothing like walking into a courtroom and hearing, "Star Jones on behalf of the people of the state of New York." There is no adrenaline rush of television that could come close to that.
Q: Talk about the new show. What are viewers going to see?
A: You'll see a merging of the law, news, newsmaking issues, entertainment and pop culture and how they converge in one platform. You have your evening entertainment programs which are personality driven. You've got your evening talking head shows that are news driven and interview driven. You've got your daytime talk shows that are real people and celebrity interview driven and rarely if ever have you seen a convergence of all of that in one platform. I thought it would be a great use of my skills and talents from Star the lawyer to Star the journalist to Star the talk show host.