‘View’ adieus
Whoopi last gal standing as Sherri, Jenny axed
A STUNNING housecleaning at “The View” has left Whoopi Goldberg driving solo and looking in the rearview mirror at her canned co-hosts.
ABC officials said Thursday night big changes were coming to the show, and soon afterward Sherrie Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy took to social media to confirm they were leaving the morning talkfest.
“‘The View’ will be moving in an exciting new direction next season, and ABC has made decisions to evolve the show creatively,” said Lauri Hogan, a spokeswoman for the program.
Sources told the Daily News that talks broke down between Shepherd and network officials, who had also opted not to renew McCarthy’s deal with ABC, which ends in July.
Word of the co-hosts’ departure came after a staff meeting to address questions on the show’s future and at the beginning of a holiday week-long hiatus, sources said. It was unclear
whether Shepherd, 47, and McCarthy, 41, would return to say farewell when the program resumes live in July.
Barbara Walters, 84, who retired from the program she created in 1997 and remains its executive producer, declined to comment on the firings.
Goldberg, 58, is the last host sitting on the show’s couch — with no one yet slated to share the popular “Hot Topics” segment.
Some media outlets reported that Bill Geddie, 58, also an executive producer on the show, has been let go, too. But an insider said he’s negotiating a new contract and is expected to return.
Shepherd and McCarthy confirmed Thursday they were out. “It’s been seven wonderful years on ‘ The View,’ and after careful consideration it is time for me to move on,” Shepherd said in a statement. “I am extremely grateful to Barbara Walters and Bill Geddie for giving me the opportunity.”
McCarthy, who joined the show in July, announced her departure via Twitter: “If Sherri goes I go too. #sisters. My view will be changing too. ... Thanks to everyone at the show for your dedication and an amazing year.”
The former Playboy Playmate replaced Elisabeth Hasselbeck, 37, but never clicked with viewers.