Elisabeth Hasselbeck Shown the Door on ‘The View,’ While Joy Behar Escorts Herself Out
'The View' couch got a little lighter this week after the announcement that Elisabeth Hasselbeck and veteran Joy Behar would both be leaving the show -- but for very different reasons.
Hasselbeck, 35, will be dishonorably discharged from the show next season after market research revealed that viewers just don't like her ultra-conservative political stances very much.
A source told Us Weekly that audiences found her "too extreme and right wing," adding, "People did not watch the show because of Elisabeth. So they told her yesterday her contract would not be renewed."
Hasselbeck leaves behind a slew of YouTube clips featuring her infamous on-air sparring with guests like Rosie O'Donnell and Kathy Griffin on topics ranging from foreign relations to theology.
This all comes after yesterday's announcement from Behar, 70, saying she will leave the show (on her own accord) to pursue other projects, telling Deadline, “It seemed like the right time. You reach a point when you say to yourself, ‘Do I want to keep doing this?’ There are other things on my plate I want to do — I’ve been writing a play, I’ve been neglecting my standup.”
No word on who might fill the ladies' seats, but now that Barbara Walters is finally back from her bout with chicken pox, maybe the interviews can finally begin.