Video of the complete announcement yesterday:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjtz8Wn4 ... ar%20Jones
and the transcript from today:
BARBARA WALTERS: THIS IS, TRUTHFULLY, A VERY DIFFICULT DAY FOR US, AND IT IS A SAD DAY FOR US. IF YOU WERE WATCHING THE PROGRAM YESTERDAY, YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD STAR ANNOUNCE THAT SHE'S LEAVING "THE VIEW" AND WILL NOT BE ON THE PROGRAM NEXT FALL. WE DIDN'T EXPECT HER TO MAKE THIS STATEMENT YESTERDAY. SHE GAVE US NO WARNING. AND WE WERE TAKEN BY SURPRISE. BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT STAR HAS KNOWN FOR MONTHS THAT ABC DID NOT WANT TO RENEW HER CONTRACT AND THAT SHE WOULD NOT BE ASKED BACK IN THE FALL. THE NETWORK MADE THIS DECISION BASED ON A VARIETY OF REASONS WHICH I WON'T GO INTO NOW. BUT WE WERE NEVER GOING TO SAY THIS. WE WANTED TO PROTECT STAR. AND SO WE TOLD HER THAT SHE COULD SAY WHATEVER SHE WANTED ABOUT WHY SHE WAS LEAVING AND THAT WE WOULD BACK HER UP. WE WORKED CLOSELY WITH HER REPRESENTATIVES AND WE GAVE HER TIME TO LOOK FOR ANOTHER JOB AND WE HOPED THEN SHE WOULD ANNOUNCE IT HERE ON THE PROGRAM AND LEAVE WITH DIGNITY. BUT STAR MADE ANOTHER CHOICE. AND SINCE HER ANNOUNCEMENT YESTERDAY, SHE HAS MADE FURTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS THAT HAVE SURPRISED US. SO IT IS BECOMING UNCOMFORTABLE FOR US TO PRETEND THAT EVERYTHING IS THE SAME AT THIS TABLE. AND, THEREFORE, REGRETTABLY STAR WILL NO LONGER BE ON THIS PROGRAM, EXCEPT FOR SOME SHOWS THAT HAVE BEEN PRERECORDED. "THE VIEW" HELPED MAKE STAR A STAR AND STAR HELPED MAKE "THE VIEW" THE SUCCESS THAT IT IS. WE WILL NEVER FORGET THAT. WE WISH HER WELL IN THIS NEW CHAPTER OF HER LIFE AS WE BEGIN A NEW CHAPTER ON "THE VIEW." AND WHEN WE COME BACK, WE WILL DO WHAT WE DO BEST, OR WORST, HOT TOPICS.