Rosie O'Donnell 'The View' Exit Saved Whoopi Goldberg's Job: ABC Unhappy With Decision and Remaining Panel of Nicolle Wallace, Rosie Perez and Goldberg
While there have been reports of feuding on the set of The View, it seems like at the end of the day Whoopi Goldberg has Rosie O'Donnell to thank for her job. The co-host of the ABC morning talk show announced her exit earlier this week, and it seems like her departure has caused the producers of the series to rethink their decision on letting Whoopi go. Whoopi's job is saved, but ABC is unhappy with the decision and remaining panel, which includes Nicolle Wallace and Rosie Perez.
According to Radar Online, the execs behind the long-running, daytime talk show were in negotiations to buy Goldberg out of her contract because of the tension between her and Rosie, but because of O'Donnell's abrupt exit, they have decided to take back their offer.
"They expected Rosie and Whoopi to fix their issues, but it wasn't working," an insider revealed. "The show was barely stabilizing in the ratings so they decided to buy Whoopi out of her contract. They were going to do it after Rosie Perez came back from play rehearsals for a few weeks."
The site is also reporting that the show was going to go through a rebranding phase after Whoopi was let go, but with her co-host's exit it doesn't seem like that will be happening anymore and it seems like ABC is not happy about this.
"They were going to give the show to Rosie O'Donnell, Rosie Perez and Nicolle Wallace, but Rosie's divorce saved Whoopi's job!" the source explained, adding that the network isn't happy with Rosie because of this. "Now they can't get rid of Whoopi."
According to Page Six, Rosie decided to leave The View to focus on her health after having survived a heart attack two years ago.
"The truth is I had a heart attack two years ago and stress is very bad for heart attack survivors," the star explained, mentioning that the talk show was causing her unnecessary tension in her life.
Image courtesy Facebook/"The View"