Elisabeth Hasselbeck 'View' Days Numbered Despite Barbara Walters' Denial? (VIDEO)
Despite the denials of Barbara Walters last week, Elisabeth Hasselbeck is likely to lose her position on "The View" due to a conservative outlook.
While show co-producer Barbara Walter has insisted that Hasselbeck will not be losing her job anytime soon, other reports have stated that the co-host's days are numbered. Show producers are apparently struggling to raise numbers for the show and Hasselbeck's conservative stance is not popular amongst viewers.
When news broke last week that Hasselbeck was to be ousted along with 16-year veteran Joy Behar, Walters was "outraged" and denied the rumors.
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"We have no plans for Elisabeth to leave this show," Walters said in a statement Monday.
But Hasselbeck not being fired may have been only change of heart in the spur of the moment, and not a lasting change of mind.
"ABC is desperate to freshen the show. Ratings are going soft, and research numbers on the stars' likability are scaring network execs," a source told The New York Post.
Hasselbeck was fired, according to the source, but Walters decided to change her mind after she discovered that the news had come out before she wanted to go public. She decided that things had been "mishandled."
"Dumping Joy Behar, who was there 16 years, and Hasselbeck would be the fastest way to do it, they decided. After giving Behar the bad news last week and letting her bow out gracefully, someone leaked the Hasselbeck thing," a source told The Post. "Some enemies she has on the show saw their chance to get back at her. Barbara was spitting mad that it got mishandled, and called off the firing over [last] weekend."
Hasselbeck will still be leaving the show next year when her contract is up, however. It could be even sooner if the show executives have their way.
"It could be earlier, because the ABC brass believes the show needs to be younged-up fast. They easily could coax her to go early," the source added.
