Barbara Walters Said Sitting Down With Johnny Carson Was a ‘Punishment’

When Johnny Carson talked to legendary journalist and The View creator Barbara Walters on The Tonight Show in 1983, it was soon after she’d interviewed him for one of her television specials.

Carson wasn’t exactly known for being generous with granting interviews in his long entertainment career. So, after he sat for questions from Walters, she did the same for him. And she revealed to his audience that she expected sitting down for their late-night chat would be a “punishment” for her previous actions and questions toward him.

Barbara Walters said appearing on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson’ was a ‘punishment’

During a 1983 interview on The Tonight Show, Walters chatted with Carson about a previous sit-down they had that she’d hosted. That happened after she called him and asked every year for eight years, only to receive a polite phone call declining her request in return.

When Carson finally agreed to be interviewed on one of Walters’ television specials, the deal came with a condition since he, too, had a show.

Soon after sitting down on The Tonight Show, Walters shared that her previous interview with Carson had happened only two days before. “And this is my punishment,” she declared.

Notably, Carson didn’t seem to “punish” Walters with his questions once it was all said and done. Instead, he seemingly wanted to learn about and rave about her skills.

Barbara Walters expected ‘punishment’ after she asked Johnny Carson about his first sexual experience to ‘loosen him up’

Carson told the audience Walters asked an intimate question to open her interview. He said she told him they wouldn’t get into “too personal” things but asked Carson, “What was your first sexual experience?”

“Was that a joke?” he asked her before adding, “I started to answer it.”

Walters confirmed that she asked, and it was a tactic she used to “loosen him up” for the rest of their chat. He had a reputation for being somewhat shy or even “cold and aloof,” as she noted. However, he gave her some personal information before realizing it wasn’t a serious question.

Walters playfully told Carson’s Tonight Show co-host, Ed McMahon, that she thought the host was a “blabbermouth,” but Carson said he just wanted to give her a good interview.

Johnny Carson explained to Barbara Walters why he was sometimes uncomfortable giving interviews to other hosts

Though Carson hosted a who’s who of Hollywood, he didn’t like to sit for interviews himself very much. He explained to Walters why that was.

First, he complimented her interview skills, noting she was good at it because she made people comfortable. But he also shared that quality made him somewhat nervous because it became easier to say things he didn’t mean to reveal.

“All of a sudden, you start to tell them things you might not say,” he explained. He also noted, “You don’t remember what you said after it’s over,” but it’s all on film. He admitted that he wasn’t feeling great about the interview he gave her, but she assured him it was “lovely.”