Barbara Walters officially announced that her last day on The View would be Friday, May 16, almost a year after originally announcing her retirement.

Barbara Walters To Leave 'The View' On Friday, May 16

Walters announced her departure date to viewers during the show on Monday, April 7, and expressed how happy she is to have shared the stage with her co-hosts, Sherri Shepherd, Whoopi Goldberg and Jenny McCarthy.

“I love being on with the two of you,” Walters said to McCarthy and Shepherd before adding, “I cannot tell you how much emotion and love I have for Whoopi – and admiration.”

Walters admitted that she is sad knowing she only has a month left, but was adamant that it was the right move for her, saying, “It feels right for me. I love this show. I love what we’ve done. It will continue without me. But I also know that it’s time. I don’t want people to say, ‘Is she still here?’”

ABC To Honor Barbara Walters

Walters will leave the show as a co-host, but will remain at the daytime talk show as executive producer. Walters co-created the show in 1997, and has continued to act as executive producer and co-host since the show’s inception. Recently, a few shakeups at the table marked the end of an era, with both Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Joy Behar leaving the show, and with Walters’ departure in sight, The View will truly be changed forever.

“In this business there are legends, there are icons, and there is Barbara Walters. She’s a dear friend and colleague as well as someone I deeply admire, and it’s impossible to fully convey her impact and influence on television. She broke barriers, defied convention, made history and set the standard for journalistic excellence for more than 50 years. It’s hard to imagine television without her,” said Chairman and Chief Executive of The Walt Disney Company, Roger A. Iger, in a statement.

The week leading up to May 16 will serve as an opportunity for The View to look back at some of Walters’ best moments throughout her long and legendary career. Her final appearance on Friday, May 16, will be followed by a primetime special on the journalist that night at 9 p.m. on ABC.

Walters may be saying goodbye to The View as a co-host, but she will not be gone from television for good. As she said on Monday, Walters is leaving the door open to return to television as an ABC News Correspondent should the news require. And, as if her 50-year career in journalism wasn’t enough, the ABC News Headquarters building in NYC will be named The Barbara Walters Building.

You can still watch Walters on The View weekdays at 11 a.m. on ABC.

– Olivia Truffaut-Wong

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