Barbara Walters sheds new light on Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s exits from “The View” in a new interview, suggesting both co-hosts were fired.
Although both Behar and Hasselbeck separately announced their departures last year as their own choices, speculation remained that the controversial TV personalities were pushed out.
Walters now tells Variety that she and “View” executive producer Bill Geddie didn’t make the decisions alone, with ABC also being “involved.”
“I think the feeling was if one went, both had to leave. We needed to shake things up,” she says.
Walters herself is set to leave the morning talk show next month, although she will remain a co-executuve producer and will have a hand in selecting not just one, but two new co-hosts to join the panel.
“We’re experimenting a little bit,” acknowledges the news veteran. “Sometimes we think we should add a man.”
Walters also hints that at least one of the newbies may be politically-oriented like her former colleagues, sharing, “We need a conservative voice. We do try to present a different side.”
Still, despite her involvement, Walters admits she has no plans to actually watch the show itself once she leaves.
“I think it will make me feel bad. I think I will miss it. If I don’t see it, I won’t miss it,” she confesses.
And she won’t be tuning into “The Talk” either, of which Walters says she’s never seen a full episode, despite a supposed rivalry between to the two casts.
“We are not at all affected by ‘The Talk.’ I don’t think the success of [Julie Chen‘s] show diminishes us, nor do I think the success or failure of ‘The View’ affects them,” says Walters.
She then adds, “The only thing I’ll say is if you’re married to the president of the network, you get more promos.”
Barbara Walters: Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Joy Behar Were Fired | Gossip Cop
