"Star loves Atlanta"

Star Jones explodes during Star 94 interview

By RICHARD L. ELDREDGE
Published on: 01/19/2006

It was the dial tone heard 'round the city on this morning. "The View" co-host and fledgling self-help author Star Jones Reynolds exploded during a phone interview with a local morning show, dissed their disrespectful, inappropriate lines of questioning and hung up.

So was it V103's Wanda Smith, 96rock's Regular Guys or Q100's Jeff Dauler on the other end?

None of the above.

The interviewers in question were Star 94's Steve McCoy and Vikki Locke, who, in the past, have gleaned fun interviews from the prickly likes of Madonna, Cher and even Kevin Costner when he was out plugging his ill-fated "Waterworld."

The Q&A went into free fall when McCoy asked Jones about the ongoing rumor that she had her alleged gastric bypass surgery at a hospital in Atlanta, a clearly emotional Jones questioned the duo's ethics, informed the pair "I don't discuss gossip!" and promptly left the airwaves.

Jones is making the media rounds, promoting her new book "Shine: A Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Journey to Finding Love" (HarperCollins, $24.95). The book frankly explores how Jones' "obesity precluded her from crossing her legs" and meeting, romancing and marrying her husband Al Reynolds.

However, Jones' handlers are making it clear that she does not want to address how she happened to lose 150 pounds in a little over a year.

"We offered her the opportunity to set the record straight and she just hung up on us," Locke told Buzz Thursday.

McCoy and Locke had a treat awaiting them in their e-mail "in" boxes when they got off the air as well. Eileen Sullivan, the Launch Radio Networks rep. who booked Jones on Star 94 e-mailed McCoy the following loaded missive: "I don't even want to discuss the Star Jones interview. . .When I got her back on the line after your interview, she turned on me. . .Apparently, I didn't drop the line fast enough and I put her in a terrible position by putting her on with a 'hostile station' (her words)."

Sullivan then requested an apology.

This afternoon, she was still waiting.

"They just asked her something that upset her and she decided to end the interview," Sullivan told Buzz from her office in New York. "I don't want to get much more specific than that."

A note for any lingering Jones admirers: The author had earlier postponed her planned Jan. 29 book-signing here. HarperCollins reps. told Buzz today that the date, the only appearance on the tour that has thus far been scotched, will be rescheduled. "It was just a scheduling issue," we were told. "Star loves Atlanta."

Clearly.