Elisabeth Hasselbeck has opened up about the emotional moments that rocked her after being told she was getting fired from The View. The former co-host revealed how she learned that the show would not be renewing her contract. The reason given was that The View would be heading into a less politically-infused future.
The View’s decision was a bombshell for Elisabeth Hasselbeck. In her new book, Point of View: A Fresh Look at Work, Faith, and Freedom, Hasselbeck gives readers the inside track. She describes the moment she learned she was being let go, writing this:
I could not breathe — literally, could not breathe... I was bent over — shock, asthma and betrayal all stealing my wind.
In her book (via USA Today), Elisabeth Hasselbeck reveals that the news got delivered by one of The View’s producers and an ABC executive. She also shares that she could feel something amiss in the lead-up, pointing to the then-recent influx of guest hosts as a sign that The View was auditioning potential co-hosts to take Hasselbeck’s spot.
In March 2013, Barbara Walters denied media reports that Elisabeth Hasselbeck was leaving the show during an episode of The View, per The New York Times. Just a few months later in July of that same year, Hasselbeck’s departure was announced.
Having received the devastating news of The View’s decision, Elisabeth Hasselbeck raised the natural question: why? Hasselbeck writes what she asked the producer and the exec:
'Was there something I could have done differently? Can I do something differently now? If you would just tell me, I would work on that — and make it better' ... I kept asking, trying to figure out how to get it back, trying to get it all back... 'I have come here and had babies and shared my heart. I have done my work, and I just don't understand. Why did you not tell me there was something I could have done better, so I could have done that?' Blank stares met those anguished words.
While things ended on an upsetting note for the one-time Survivor contestant-turned-morning talk show host, she got a chance few people do. Elisabeth Hasselbeck shared that six years after she got fired, The View wanted her back. They offered her a chance to return as a co-host. She turned them down.
That timeline indicates that this was a relatively recent offer from The View. Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s exit took place in July 2013. This would seem to mean that the offer occurred at some point this year in 2019.
Elisabeth Hasselbeck is now retired. After her time on The View ended, she almost immediately started as a co-host on Fox News’ Fox & Friends. She joined the show in the fall of 2013 and remained on the morning show as a co-host, until 2015.
Despite saying they would be veering away from politics, The View has continued to embrace them in recent years. As the conservative voice of The View, Elisabeth Hasselback has since seen her role filled by Candace Cameron Bure and most recently, Abby Huntsman.
Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s behind-the-scenes reveals come as another former co-host shared hers. Jenny McCarthy recently made headlines with her not-so-shining take on her experience co-hosting The View. As for Hasselbeck, her new book has already hit shelves.
New episodes of The View air weekday mornings at 11:00 a.m. ET on ABC.
