Well, we finally know the identity of Barbara Walters’ Most Fascinating Person of 2014. What’s funny – to me, at least – is that the #1 most fascinating person of the year did not even bother to give Barbara Walters an interview. Our new most fascinating person in the world is: AMAL. Formerly Amal Alamuddin, now Amal Clooney. Amal did have a big year – she got engaged to The Most Eligible Bachelor In the World last spring, and then they were married in what turned out to be the thirstiest wedding of the year (no disrespect to the thirstiness of the Kimye Wedding). But since October, Amal has been pretty quiet. Still, everyone’s hoping that she walks the Golden Globes red carpet in January with George – he’s receiving the lifetime achievement award. Of course.
In the first few seconds of Walters’ announcement, she compares Amal to Jackie Kennedy-Onassis, Duchess Kate and Princess Diana. Um… really? Her? Why doesn’t anyone else make the obvious comparison: she’s Carolyn Bessette to George Clooney’s John-John. Ha! I know, that’s just as offensive and ludicrous as saying Amal is the same as Princess Diana, but with the Bessette comparison, at least it really feels like there are parallels to draw on. Anyway, here’s the video. Barbara is so extra about George Clooney.
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I’ll keep my reaction succinct:
Her?
Oh. My. God. That video of Barbara Walters was the most cringeworthy thing I have ever seen. So desperate! No wonder Amal didn’t even show up. Wowwwwwwwww!
Feminism has just slipped back to 1914. BabaWawa must have gotten her year/century mixed up.
This. BabaWawa has not been watchable in years. Her opinions do not matter me.
That is exactly what I thought – what in the world!!? Is Barbara trying to create a celebrity? I was offended for Amal’s sake – she is a lawyer for women’s rights and free speech! Shading her with all this princessy stuff is revolting, like Barbara is speaking from the dark ages.
Unbelievable, coming from the ” we call” groundbreaking journalist.
OLLYHOLLY right behind you. I saw the last few minutes by accident – all this vomitrocious copy about “there really is a special someone for everyone” blah blah blah. I think The Hat is what really cinched the title for her.
Then Babwa made an nauseating non-exit – “this is my last special, maybe not.”
her? is she funny or something?
Ag, it’s an “Arrested Development” reference.
so is mine. “her? is she funny or something?” – it was said one of the times that they talk about “Egg.”
I don’t think Amal is particularly interested in this celebrity nonsense. There’s no need to jump on her. She didn’t ask for this title and even seems to be keeping as low a profile as possible. If she’s photographed out with George for a cozy dinner, that’s beyond her control.
Egg?
George Clooney, I’m sure that Egg is a very nice person. I just don’t want you spending all your money… getting her all glittered up for Easter, you know?
LOL.
i thought i left her a voice mail, but we actually spoke.
ha, so true
It really gets me that people keep referring to George Clooney as a bachelor. He was not a bachelor. A bachelor is someone who has never been married. He’s a divorce’.
To quote LeAnn Rimes, “Nay.”
Damn, Clooney has the best PR people in the world.
I agree. And OMG of all the amazing people in the world … So glad I didn’t bother to watch. She is up Cloineys butt for sure
DUH.
She was quite simply 1/2 of the greatest love story, of all time, by a margin so wide that no love story could even remotely compare. So put away whatever measuring devices you were using to gauge the dedication of your significant other, because love got reinvented, Amalooney style.
You really do always have the best comments Abbott 🙂
Thank you, snazzy. George and Amal really inspired me this year 🙂
Cosigning. ‘Abot’ is hilarious.
Abbott should have been the Most Fascinating. I blame Sony.
Jaderu – YES! Abbott for Most Fascinating.
(4 out of 4 crack addicted goats would agree).
Sadly, I think Amal took it because of her glorious blow-outs. No one stood a chance.
Abbott would have to marry George, first, and model an array of new dresses and mismatched shoes. It’s only fair.
“So put away whatever measuring devices you were using to gauge the dedication of your significant other,”
I love this so much!
I think Abbott could totally cinch the Most Fascinating title if she took an extra step…wear a fascinator inspired by the love story of our lifetime! Something like Princess Beatrice’s fascinator at the royal wedding, but with the wings shaped in the silhouette of the REAL royal couple: Amal and Georgie. With that perched atop her head, I think Abbott would be a shoo in!
What about a bunch of Cumbers and THE COMET®?
TBD, Kiddo. I’m not positive we will all make it safely to the other side of that engagement. The internet may collapse under the weight of a million otter jokes.
She’ll also be 1/2 of the world’s greatest divorce story!!!
Sorry I couldn’t resist.
And she was known before George Clooney for what? She may have done good things out there but her only claim to fame is marrying George.
She was certainly known in human rights circles and that makes her fascinating in my books. Marrying Clooney raised her profile but its a profile she worked hard to build herself. Good for her.
She represented people who blew up airplanes, connected to Gadaffi.
Can’t stand this famewh.re of a woman he married, or the whitewashed pr.
It really is a Bitch Please” kind of day in Hollywood.
🙂
It really is!
Nay. I’ll repeat, nay.
Geez really? So many more worthy people (not Cumberbun) lol!
Yassss! Bowing at this divisive for no reason Queen.
Nay! NaynayNAYnaynay!
Hmm, but everyone who calls her a huge famewhore will have to spin reasons as to why she didn’t grab this chance to be interviewed on such a big show.
I’m reporting you as spam. lol
She’s so enraged by this that she’s speechless. LOL
Jaderu, I was feeling the heat from her laser eyes. Positively penetrating.
Say what, Virgilia? Lol.
Hmm, missed the response. Oh, well.
Slim pickings this year Babs?
Actually in the world of entertainment, I think it was, can you think of one celebrity who hasn’t been headache inducing or overall blah this year?
Outside of entertainment, there has been mostly batshit craziness.
So, yay for Amal on winning on a technicality!
Then Walter should have skipped the entertainment world gone with those in the real world making a difference.
The further Glorifying and Whitewashing of a woman who’s client list is disgusting.
I watched. Barbara really needs to retire… not only did she seem “off” but she asked the most inane questions. Poor ScarJo — one of the biggest success stories of the year and Babs asked her, “Do you like your body?”
WTF?!
What’s so fascinating? Her hair or her hoochie high dress.
How much did Clooney have to pay to get her this title
I can ALMOST(?) understand her being on the list.. but to be the #1.. Barbara is out of touch. I would even get her being #1 if she had gone to Greece and actually gotten the Art work returned.. but mmmmm that didn’t happen. In fact I haven’t seen or heard anything about it since her big visit.
so no Barbara is wrong again. I feel like she gets really bad advice
LOL, you don’t know how cases like this are won, do you? They don’t just finish up after a week or two.
I do know how they are won.. my point was nothing has been said about it. And I wish there had been. I’m not knocking her, but I don’t understand why all the fan fair when she went then nothing. it would be nice to have some kind of update regarding progress.
When I want to know what is hip and happening, truly important and fascinating, I know only Barbara Walters can gauge the pulse of modern society….in 1979.
yeap. she’s the very essence of “60 minutes” – “it’s all the latest rage, and it’s said to have the ability to change the world. the interwebs – have you heard about it? our 89-year old reporter who’s down with the kids these days will tell you all about it.”
🙂
The best comment I heard about this on another site. Barbara, way to push back women decades she is fascinating because she managed to marry someone. If you saw her special that is actually what she said. Her major accomplishment was marrying the un-marriageable.
I have someone who should have won, since she couldn’t get an actual interview anyway. How about Pope Frances. This year he managed to change a lot about one of the largest and certainly most powerful, but not easily altered religious groups in the world. My dog even is going to heaven now. That alone should qualify more than this.
I revoke my earlier comment, he has been awesome.
That would have been an awesome pick. The Most Fascinating never gets controversial even when one of them is a politician. But Francis has actually done important things and made important statements. He’s taken on consumerism, capitalism, global poverty, war, persecution, helping those who are suffering, The mafia, the problem of pedophilia in the church, making religion more tolerant and accepting, intolerance towards other religions, etc… the RCC isn’t perfect but these are actually significant steps as opposed to a movie or marriage. Yet the pick wouldn’t have been too political for the lightweight special.
Good point about her being picked for her “accomplishment” of marrying someone. That is pretty depressing!
I have not watched the show in years, but if George The Bachelor ,thinks she is worthy to marry ,then I might just watch the show-lol.
If Amal’s the “most fascinating” 2014 must’ve been a boring year…
Barbara Walters and her career as of late has become a farce. I think she, like Oprah, are trailblazers in journalism who started off with good intentions to make a difference. However, somewhere along the way, they lost touch of reality due to their fame and fortune. I just can’t respect Barbara at this point in her career after creating The View, which could have been a thought provoking show for women, that has turned into a huge embarrassment and one of the most annoying shows on television in the last 15 years. I pretty much lost any good will I had for her when she defended child rapist Woody Allen. Now her annual Most Fascinating Person segment cannot be taken seriously in any way. Amal Clooney? Taylor Swift? Chelsea Handler?!? Scarlett Johansson?!?! These are all celebrities who have made headlines but have in no way made any significant contributions to humanity. How out of touch can a journalist be to name a woman who is only famous for marrying a Hollywood actor whose less than respectable love life was tabloid fodder for the last decade.
+ eleventy billion.
Well said.
Barbara is one of those women who drooled over Clooney for decades, so she is probably in awe that Amal married him. It’s really twisted and sad really.
I like the fact that she’s Arab, a lawyer, and involved in cool, controversial cases. What I don’t like is that she’s married to George Clooney, not because of their relationship (which isn’t my business), but the fact that he brought down her credibility by making their love a cheap, over-hyped production.
What I don’t like is she represented Gadaffi’s sons and one of his henchmen.
Hell to the Nay.
Nay, Nope, or Nah. Any of those three would work for me.
4 out of 5 crack addicted billy goats agree that Amal is fascinating.
Who does the lone one vote for? And what of horses with sugar issues, don’t they count, tater?
I think he voted for the ceramic cokatoos. He is on crack, remember?
The lone one votes for Lohan every year, because obviously.
lol to both of you. I would have guessed Mel Gibson.
He tends to be favored by the sugar high horses you asked about. It’s a related species thing, Gibson being an ass and all.
There’s always one stupid goat in the bunch. Honestly this wedding is still being pimped out more than the ho’s on Sunset waiting for Hugh Grant to return. I’m sure his people wouldn’t let her talk..just in the last couple weeks there have been blinds eluding to her spending and tryst with an ex.
“tryst with an ex.” Go on….
Kiddo..cdan seven days ago..newlywed wife of A plus actor caught with someone..sez this is luv, marriage is something else (summation). Sorry can’t do link right..the spending thing has appeared on several sites..guess her clothing bills since wed are around 200 grand monthly.
So true boredbeforehand…..It’s George’s PR at work and his peeps weren’t intending for her to the interview ever w Babs.
Also they paint her as in George’s reflective glory, only famous and acknowledged for Who, whom, she married! Landing the Big Hollywood old Fish!
Why does this NOT surprise me? They likely have an open marriage, but in fairness, if she’s getting hers, then George has every right to be getting his. Fair is fair after all. I would LOVE to be the interloper in that scenario…with George.
1. I thought Walter’s was done doing this special?
2. All this woman did was get married. That is how she made the list. Instead of leading with her job, they reduced her status as a human rights lawyer to another man’s wife.
I need more coffee.
+1
The only way she should even make this list in regards to her being married to George is if they’re polyamorous, imo & tbh. I could see her making this list if it was about her accomplishments that went with her job in the field of law and human rights.
Wawa needs to wetire
Barbara just thought that would snag her an interview and it would be a huge get for her, landing this interview, and the ruse failed. LOL
LOL +10
A big YAY for me! Finally, someone is in the spotlight who has a great career, and can be a positive role model for young girls. I have a daughter who is two, and I definitely want her to look up to women doctors, lawyers, etc. and not have silly dreams of “mommy I wanna be a supermodel or an actress.”
I don’t know why more people aren’t “famous” who are not actors and models in our society. I think it speaks to our values. I mean, we have famous people like Stephen Hawking, Hillary Clinton, Christine Lagarde and Sandra Day O’Connor, but it seems like more of our youth aspire to more ephemeral and silly career paths. It was really sad (though not shocking , given the family) to hear the over-exposed Kendall Jenner say, “I wanna be a role model for young girls” and how she always looked up to …. supermodels? I mean, does anyone now aspire to do anything serious with their lives anymore?
Heather if that is why she said she was most fascinating, I am all with you, but she didn’t she said because she married a man who is so fascinating. Then she relegated her to a high class WAG with her fashion and wedding. Sorry I would rather have the actor, models and politicians at least it is their career that makes them fascinating.
Yup WAG.
Admired by Barb because she snagged George.
I hope Amal is pleased. THE MOST fascinating person in 2014 because she ‘snatched’ Clooney- what an honor! From human rights lawyer to luxury escort in no time…fascinating indeed.
Pretty disgusting in my book – to call it an achievement, to snag a man… It’s true that the Waity did it, but how much personal respect is Waity accruing? I believe that George is lucky because he snagged Amal!!! I have an inkling that if Amal were the kind of fame whore that Barbara is trying to create, she would have been on Barbara’s show.
I honestly believe they both have an agenda, and that’s why they are married now. I never thought Clooney has serious political ambitions, but rather really desperately wanted a new image. For whatever reason, he thought he needed a wife for that. Amal’s agenda might be very simple- getting a lifelong financial security, and a husband with connections she doesn’t have yet. And it doesn’t look like she minds the publicity. Since she married, she dresses like a model, with a very expensive taste. Never mind, but it doesn’t look like she would get overworked in the near future. Hope I’m wrong…
I just about choked on my banana nut bread when I read the “News” that Amal is this year’s most fascinating woman. With all of the hype created about her in the media (and George’s involvement in same), I am now convinced that we have entered the world of “1984” George Orwell’s book. The Ministry of Truth is propagating the lie that Amal is someone that she is not. I am resolved therefore to boycott anything that involves either Amal and/or George Clooney.
I think my favorite part of the special was how irritated Barbara was that ScarJo sat trough the entire interview and didn’t reveal she had gotten married.
I’m fine with this years list of people. Nothing can get any worse than when she interviewed the Kardashians. At least Amal Clooney has an actual job.
I just saw the opening. Did Barbara seem like she was drifting in and out to anyone else? Honestly, if that’s the best take that they had, then the rest must be really scary.
So, that video is the definition of “thirsty,” yes?
I mean sure. She sure has gotten a lot of coverage here!
Did Amy Pascal “fixed” it again and made this one HIT? Haha… Babs has gone (finally) senile.
Amal wouldn’t make my top 100 list.
I log on just to read Abbot’s comments and Kiddo’s responses to her comments – hillarious!! There are one or two others that are just so funny as well …. Jaderu, Gnat, QQ – Love it.
Quite frankly I think it is amazing and rewarding that a female lawyer specializing in international law, criminal law, human rights, and extradition gets recognized. Even if it was more for her new celebrity status, people have now heard about the work she does and it gives attention to the field.
Although my vote goes to the pope.
But why is she so fascinating? Because she married George Clooney?
She got married, and that is the only reason we know who she is – not because of anything she has done or anything else about her. This is an awful message for all females that the most fascinating woman out there is one who married George Clooney.
NAY.
Nay . We all just know her as Mrs George Clooney. Plenty of fascinating people who aren’t married. If they divorce, will she be fascinating for just having been married to George?
Really, she added to Barbara WaWa’s list of most fascinating people, because she is the most fascinating person of all of George’s girlfriends for marrying him!?!? I have no words. It is not because of anything else, right? Is there any emails from the Sony Hack about this?
Nay.
She married an A-list actor. That’s it. Big deal. How is she the most fascinating person of 2014 ? Come on.
marrying clooney doesn’t make her the most fasinating person. but not even giving them an interview definitly make her one now . Ha! I’m glad George didn’t force her to do the interview and i hope he doesn’t pressure her to accompany him to red carpet and award shows if she does’t want to go.
On one hand, I have the same snarky reaction as everyone else. On the other hand, have you looked at who usually appears on this list? She’s sharing this year’s with Taylor Swift, Michael Strahan, and Chelsea Handler. Past members include various Kardashians, Honey Boo Boo, Pippa Middleton, the cast of Jersey Shore, and E.L. James.
Basically, this is The Sexiest Man Alive without the shirtless pics.
I know I’m going to Cele|bitchy hell for this, but I was laughing at everybody getting worked up over the Kardashians being picked as the most interesting once that had been revealed. The one year that I reveled in my Reese Poon-esque sanctimony without shame.
I don’t think Babs usually interviews the number one person on her most interesting people list. At least, I remember watching it one or two times and her just summarizing the most interesting person and not directly interviewing them. Didn’t she pick Kate Middleton the year Will and Kate got married? I don’t think she interviewed Kate either.
I think it is most interesting that Amal somehow bewitched The Cloons and made him change his mind about marriage. What did she do or say where other women failed? Not sure that makes her the most fascinating person of the year but it is a mystery!
I wish you were right, but sorry. She never did pick Kate and most are interviewed. She did pick Prince William in 1997 but most are Presidents, Camilla Parker Bowles, First Ladies, Generals, World leaders, Mother Theresa, Political leaders, Steve Jobs posthumous, J.K. Rowlings, Lance Armstrong before all went public nuts with him, and Amal Clooney as Barbara Walters said for one of the greatest achievements of human kind marrying George – granted tongue and cheek but yuck. She really doesn’t seem to fit the crowd especially with the way she depicted her achievements It makes me angry coming from a powerful woman. We are all toast if the ones who came before us belittle our real accomplishments. While I could see her on the list the winner don’t think so.
I think Amal really, really wants a serious journalism job. I don’t know why they’re pimping her out so much. It’s not like she’s good publicity for George Clooney as a movie star. Watch this space.
Christiane Amanpour she isn’t. Besides, Christiane got her serious journalism job by actually working. She didn’t marry an actor just to get her where she feels she deserves to be. (Which will be the reason why Amal does get a serious journalism job).
Then again, Amal needs to leave the well known through marriage route to people like me who have a hard time getting ahead because of a neurodevelopmental disability or other barrier that keeps them from getting ahead. This doesn’t apply to all so I’m actually speaking for myself only. *steps down from soapbox perched atop pedestal.* It got really lonely up there on my pedestal and soapbox
Has Malala Yousafzai ever been on Barbra Walters most fascinating people list ? If not , she should have been number one.More than once.
Agreed.
Clearly some people have no idea who Amal represents. She does not look after the victims if you go and take a look at her client list you will see the dictators and tyrants who she protects. She has done no real Human Rights work but advised. Amal doesn’t get her hands dirty and she hasn’t worked in nearly a year. She went to Greece and had a lovely expensive wardrobe for the useless trip. If she got interviewed what could she even talk about? How she managed to be in the right place when George decided he needed a public wife? These two can barely look at each other. Amal saves herself for the cameras that is what she is usually busy gazing at. To be recognised for marrying an A lister is insulting to people who really have done something worthwhile. Barbara Walters has no idea what Princess Diana or Mother Theresa did if she put’s Amal Clooney in the same category it’s insulting to real workers helping people. The only people Amal Clooney helps is Amal Clooney the designers she buys her wardrobe off and George Clooney who is busy pretending to be a husband for whatever reason.
Well, in order to find Amal Alamudin fascinating, one would need to find Clooney fascinating. And an old bird like Walters is very probably someone who has bought firmly into his ‘fascination’. In her world, Clooney is the biggest prize a girl could get so Alamuddin bagging him is a win of epic proportions.
Unfortuntely, the Clooney Amal bagged is a Clooney well past his ‘fascination’ sell-by date.
But I wish them well, nevertheless.
Nay
Bit of shade cast on the former girlfriends…. “Amal was a little different…” This list has been irrelevant for years, as has Barbara.
Bit of shade cast on the former girlfriends…. “Amal was a little different…” This list has been irrelevant for years, as has Barbara.
Congrats! You got married. You are NOW fascinating. Boo!