They said/We said: Barbara Walters and Oprah Winfrey duke it out in a bidding war for Pippa Middleton

What has got talk shows queens Barbara Walters and Oprah Winfrey duking it out in a $500,000 bidding war? A much-sought-after interview with none other than Pippa Middleton! Who else?

The royal maid-of-honour, who’s currently on a promotional tour for her new party planning book , is no stranger to media attention, and is reportedly being offered as much as $500,000 for an hour-long special with one fortunate interviewer. Quite the deal.

Babs, however, denied the rumour on The View yesterday morning, claiming: “It’s not true. […] ABC News does not pay for interviews. I have no idea what Oprah does—we do not pay.”

With the list of rumoured participants in the bidding battle mounting (Ellen DeGeneres and Matt Lauer have been added as well), and the price for Pippa continuously in flux, it’s hard to tell if any of this is actually true. What we do know is she’ll have to sit down with someone at some point.

Our guess is as good as yours as to who will win the high-priced interview, but we’re sure the generous Pippa plans to donate the profits to charity.

THEY SAID:

E!Online: “[…]it remains to be seen if the press-shy Middleton sister will be doing any promotion at all let alone with Oprah or Barbara (it’s not like name recognition is a hurdle she needs to overcome).” [E!online]

The Daily Beast: “Is Pippa a private citizen who became an accidental celebrity[… ]?Or do her commercial dealings and self-promotion make her a bona fide subject for the global media? Primetime TV coverage to promote her book in the U.S., even if the money does go to charity, will make those questions even harder to answer.” [The Daily Beast]

WE SAID:

Caitlin Agnew, assistant editor/research: “With 30-second ad space during the Superbowl selling for upwards of $3.5 million, Pippa Middleton for $500,000 is a steal.”