Barbara Walters: Ailing Legend Held Captive In Her Own Home

Barbara Walters — out of the public eye for nearly a year and half — has friends fearing the worst, with the former “Today” show host now completely cut off from the outside world in her ritzy New York home!

“No one is allowed access into her apartment,” a pal told The National ENQUIRER. “Friends have been trying to see Barbara since the summer, but the doormen keep turning everyone away.” As previously reported, Barbara, hampered by deafness and heart disease, has been showing signs of advanced dementia for months.

“Barbara broke her hip a few months ago, and she’s in a wheelchair now 24/7,” revealed her pal. “She sits propped up in it in her library overlooking Central Park all day. She stares at the same page of a newspaper for hours. All she does is go from the bed to her wheelchair and back again.

“She hasn’t seen her beloved hairdresser or makeup artist, Lori, in over a year. Her house staff washes her hair and pulls it back in a ponytail," the friend reported. “The last person who saw her thinks she has Alzheimer’s.”

Barbara recognizes few things other than old photos of her late pooch, Cha Cha. Although her reps deny she’s suffering from dementia, an insider said: “Barbara doesn’t always know her name, but the staff turns on the TV when ‘The View’ comes on, and Joy [Behar]’s voice and laughter put a smile on her face.”

Once a glamorous woman about town, Barbara has not been seen in public since July 2016, and now has nurses 24/7. “She’s so disoriented that she rarely remembers who she’s talking to,” added a source. Her tragic downward spiral has left Barbara incontinent and suspicious of her caretakers.

“Barbara’s become extremely paranoid that people are stealing from her!” tattled the source. “Sometimes she gets angry and will physically swat at caretakers if they cause her any pain.” Frightened friends and former colleagues worry that her isolation may be doing her more harm than good.

“Friends just want to say goodbye,” a source revealed. “They simply want to see that she’s well taken care of. Everyone knows the end is near and they just want to have a proper chance to say goodbye.”