In a report from US Weekly, Elisabeth Hasselbeck is being removed from the cast of “The View” and the news comes not long after Joy Behar announced she was leaving the show too. The report came on Friday and quoted anonymous sources close to the situation. Those sources said that Hasselbeck is leaving the show following the result of market research that was performed.
“The viewers they polled all said she was too extreme and right wing. People did not watch the show because of Elisabeth. So they told her yesterday her contract would not be renewed,” a source told Us Weekly.
Should this report turn out to be true, the show would be losing two of its longest-running hosts in Hasselbeck and Behar. The same cast has been talking about the world’s biggest stories since 2007 when Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd joined to replace Rosie O’Donnell and Star Jones.
A representative for the show told US Weekly the following, “Elisabeth Hasselbeck is a valued member of The View and has a long term contract.”
She joined the show in November of 2003 after she guest-hosted it after Lisa Ling left in 2002. Earlier last week, Behar said that she would be leaving the show after close to 17 years.
“You can’t stay forever on a show,” she told Good Morning America. “I am graciously exiting stage left. I’ve put in 16 1/2 years and felt the time was right. I want to explore other opportunities.”
Adds the source to US Weekly: “Joy says it just felt … tired and like work. She was over it.”