Was Elisabeth Hasselbeck 'too right-wing' for 'The View'?

Was Elisabeth Hasselbeck ‘too right-wing’ for ‘The View’?

Elisabeth Hasselbeck, left, and Joy Behar (seen here in 2006) are both leaving ABC's talk show "The View."

L.A. Times Archives

March 8, 2013 12 AM PT

Another chair has emptied at “The View,” with news Friday that Elisabeth Hasselbeck will not be returning to the ABC talk show next season.

Hasselbeck, a former “Survivor” finalist known for her fiery conservative views and frequent clashes with cohosts, joins Joy Behar, who announced on Thursday she will leave the show in August.

According to US Weekly, Hasselbeck, a 10-year “View” veteran, was not invited back after producers examined research that said viewers found her “too extreme and right-wing.” “People did not watch the show because of Elisabeth,” one unnamed “insider” told the magazine.

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Hasselbeck’s spats became epic. In 2006, she got into an on-air tangle with her cohosts over the morning-after pill, which Hasselbeck opposes. “I believe that life begins at the moment of conception,” she said. A 2007 dust-up between Hasselbeck and former cohost Rosie O’Donnell over the Iraq war got extensive media play. More recently, she’s had an ongoing feud with HBO host Bill Maher.

“The View” looks headed for a major reinvention next season. Producers are reportedly scouting for replacements for Hasselbeck and Behar, and retirement rumors have swirled around 83-year-old Barbara Walters, who not only cohosts part time but is also an executive producer.

Still unclear is whether remaining panelists Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd will stay with “The View.”

What do you think of Hasselbeck?

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Twitter: @scottcollinsLAT