Following the recent exit of Elizabeth Hasselbeck from The View, ABC has filled one slot on the show’s roster with Jenny McCarthy. The official announcement came from host Barbara Walters on July 15.
Reports surfaced last week that McCarthy, who has been a guest and fill-in host on the show more than a dozen times, was in talks to replace Joy Behar, who’s leaving when her contract is up in August. The announcement comes a few days after Elisabeth Hasselbeck announced her departure from “The View” as well; her seat is still open.
McCarthy says in her own statement, “I’m beyond thrilled to be joining Barbara and the other amazing women at the table. I’d like to thank ABC for this great opportunity. I’d also like to give a big thank you to VH1” — where she hosted a late-night show earlier this year — “for their support and for allowing me to fulfill this lifelong dream. I look forward to helping make hot topics a little bit hotter, and showing my mom that my interrupting skills have finally paid off.”
McCarthy, a former Playboy model who burst into the pop-culture consciousness on MTV’s “Singled Out” in the mid-1990s, has drawn some controversy in recent years for her anti-vaccination stances, believing additives in vaccines caused her son’s autism.
Her first day as a full-time member of “The View” team will be Sept. 9. What do you think of her addition?
