Last week, there was a lot of drama about whether or not Elisabeth Hasselbeck had been fired from The View after market research claimed that viewers found Elisabeth to be too “extreme and right-wing”. The initial reports – which claimed Barbara Walters had taken Elisabeth to the proverbial woodshed – seemed to come from well-placed unnamed sources at The View, and it seemed legit. But then Barbara Walters announced that she loves Elisabeth and there are “no plans” for Elisabeth to leave, which I interpreted as a face-saving gesture by both women. As in, Barbara didn’t want to look like she was firing Elisabeth, and she was going to let Elisabeth look like she was leaving of her own accord. Now Page Six has some insider dirt – does anyone else thing The View has a major leak problem?

Elisabeth Hasselbeck “is toast” on ABC’s “The View,” sources tell us, despite show doyenne Barbara Walters insisting the conservative blonde isn’t getting fired.

Rumors swirling that Hasselbeck was on her way out forced Walters to say last Monday, “We have no plans for Elisabeth to leave this show.” But a source tells us, “ABC is desperate to freshen the show. Ratings are going soft, and research numbers on the stars’ likability are scaring network execs.

“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. 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.”

While we heard Hasselbeck would go when her contract is up next year, the source added, “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.”

Meanwhile the well-manicured claws are out for Behar’s still-warm seat, with “GMA” anchor George Stephanopoulos’ actress-comic wife Ali Wentworth a favorite. But Christie Brinkley is also lobbying hard for the job.

Another source said, “They want another comedienne, so Ali is the favorite. And she’s already seen as part of the ABC family because of George. But Christie really wants the job. Brooke Shields is also very much liked.

“But, just as they did with ‘Live! with Kelly and Michael,’ they won’t rush. They’ll test out a number of hosts to see who works best with the women and the audience.” A rep for “The View” said, “This was all addressed on Monday’s show. [Walters] is not the least bit angry. She loves these women and wants what’s best for them. Everything else is speculation. Producers haven’t begun to search for a new co-host. We have no further comment.”

[From Page Six]

I said this last week, but Joy was like the only one on The View who I liked. I like how shtick-y she is, like an old-school comedian. As for the replacement hostesses being named… I could see Brooke Shields being good at that kind of show. I’ve never really gotten the Ali Wentworth thing – she used to be on Oprah all the time too. What’s her deal? Is she just famous for marrying George Stephanopoulos? She’s sort of brassy-funny, but I would love to see The View add a woman with an actual background in journalism, you know?

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