Catfights, betrayals, vendettas and tears!
That was life on The View — which was more a steel cage match than a lady’s coffee klatch, according to a shocking new book.
Legendary newswoman Barbara Walters, now 89, launched the chat show in 1997 — and ran roughshod over a string of co-hosts, including Rosie O’Donnell, Jenny McCarthy and Elisabeth Hasselbeck, according to the new book Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View, by Ramin Setoodeh.
Click through the gallery above for the shocking details!
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Blond bombshell Jenny revealed Barbara screamed at her for seven excruciating minutes backstage for optimistically claiming autism could be cured.
“I went back to my dressing room not knowing what the f--k to do,” said Jenny, according to the book.
“One of my heroes just chewed me a new a--hole, and I’m going on live TV.”
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Outspoken conservative Elisabeth once even stormed off the set after Barbara lectured her on the air during an argument about abortion!
“This woman is driving me nuts,” Elisabeth said, according to the book. “I’m not going back. I can’t do the show like this. She just reprimanded me, and she knew exactly what she was doing. Goodbye! I’m off. Read about that in the New York f - - king Post!”
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Enraged Barbara also once fired current co-host Joy Behar when she believed Joy leaked news Rosie was making a return appearance on the show. Barbara later changed her mind, wrote Setoodeh.
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Though Barbara openly battled with Rosie, both on and off the air.
“Rosie was running around telling the staff that Barbara Walters, at 77, was ‘much too old to be on TV,’ and accused her of being a bad mother!” wrote the author.
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Rosie, who burned her bridges after two separate stints on the show, also clashed with executive producer Bill Geddie so often, he took a temporary leave of absence to get away from her, claimed Setoodeh.
And despite endless feuds with Elisabeth, Rosie revealed in the book that she had “a little bit of a crush” on her and there were “underlying lesbian tones on both parts.”
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After reading her comments, a disgusted Elisabeth snapped: “That is disturbing, and it’s wrong.”
Still, Rosie also claimed to be a victim, insisting: “Whoopi Goldberg was as mean as anyone has ever been on television to me.”
Whoopi seemed to share the negative feelings. The author said Goldberg hated the book’s cover “because it featured an illustration of her sitting at the same table as Rosie."
Blond bombshell Jenny revealed Barbara screamed at her for seven excruciating minutes backstage for optimistically claiming autism could be cured.
“I went back to my dressing room not knowing what the f--k to do,” said Jenny, according to the book.
“One of my heroes just chewed me a new a--hole, and I’m going on live TV.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
Outspoken conservative Elisabeth once even stormed off the set after Barbara lectured her on the air during an argument about abortion!
“This woman is driving me nuts,” Elisabeth said, according to the book. “I’m not going back. I can’t do the show like this. She just reprimanded me, and she knew exactly what she was doing. Goodbye! I’m off. Read about that in the New York f - - king Post!”
Photo credit: Getty Images
Enraged Barbara also once fired current co-host Joy Behar when she believed Joy leaked news Rosie was making a return appearance on the show. Barbara later changed her mind, wrote Setoodeh.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Though Barbara openly battled with Rosie, both on and off the air.
“Rosie was running around telling the staff that Barbara Walters, at 77, was ‘much too old to be on TV,’ and accused her of being a bad mother!” wrote the author.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Rosie, who burned her bridges after two separate stints on the show, also clashed with executive producer Bill Geddie so often, he took a temporary leave of absence to get away from her, claimed Setoodeh.
And despite endless feuds with Elisabeth, Rosie revealed in the book that she had “a little bit of a crush” on her and there were “underlying lesbian tones on both parts.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
After reading her comments, a disgusted Elisabeth snapped: “That is disturbing, and it’s wrong.”
Still, Rosie also claimed to be a victim, insisting: “Whoopi Goldberg was as mean as anyone has ever been on television to me.”
Whoopi seemed to share the negative feelings. The author said Goldberg hated the book’s cover “because it featured an illustration of her sitting at the same table as Rosie."
Photo credit: Getty Images
