Elisabeth Hasselbeck Fired From 'The View!'

Elisabeth Hasselbeck will not be returning to “The View” next season.

ABC confirms that Hasselbeck is taking her leave of the show, on which she has provided the conservative viewpoint for ten years.

Hasselbeck reportedly was not invited back due to low ratings and negative responses from audiences. Viewers found her opinions (which often clashed with other members of the show) “too extreme and right-wing.”

“People did not watch the show because of Elisabeth,” said an insider from the show. “So they told her yesterday her contract would not be renewed.”

ABC would only say that Hasselbeck “is a valued member of ‘The View.’”

Joy Behar is also leaving the show after this season, although she has maintained her position since the show’s debut in 1997.

“It seemed like the right time,” the funny woman said of her decision. “You reach a point when you say to yourself, ‘Do I want to keep doing this?’ There are other things on my plate I want to do — I’ve been writing a play, I’ve been neglecting my standup.”

ABC said in a statement, “Joy Behar has been instrumental in the success of 'The View' from the very beginning. We wish her all the best in this next chapter, and are thrilled that we have her for the remainder of the season.”

No word yet whether Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd intend to follow lead, but clearly, there are empty chairs to fill.

Show creator Barbara Walters is reportedly interested in wooing Brooke Shields as a replacement for one of the exiting women, although retirement rumors already surround Walters herself. Though, at 83-years-old, the lady has shown no signs of slowing down.