Rosie O’Donnell didn’t exactly leave The View on the best of terms with Elisabeth Hasselbeck, but the two were recently together for a reunion show to say goodbye to the retiring Barbara Walters. Hasselbeck revealed that she learned back then that O’Donnell might be returning to the show.
On Fox And Friends this morning, Hasselbeck told her co-hosts over the phone, “I do believe this has been in the works for a long, long time.”
She said that while she was back on The View set in May, she believed that the goodbye show for Walters “was actually [O’Donnell’s] hello show.” Hasselbeck explained that O’Donnell helped produce the episode and put it together.
It was reported on Tuesday that O’Donnell is already in deep negotiations to return to The View, although ABC hasn’t confirmed that yet. However, Hasselbeck’s comments prove that it may be the truth, including rumors that O’Donnell will have a say in who else is at the table with her and Whoopi Goldberg.
“Anybody who is going to be in that seat… will have to be fully approved by Rosie,” Hasselbeck told Fox And Friends. “Whoopi is not going to let anybody control her… She is the leader on that show. I am going to be very interested to see how that goes.”
Both Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy are not returning to the show next season. Goldberg is the only confirmed host at the moment.
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