While The View moderator Whoopi Goldberg is dominatingthe headlines by doubling down on her defense of Bill Cosby, her show is going through some drama of its own. After an endless stream of storiesabout yet another View shake-up, co-host Rosie Perez broke down on Wednesday as she confirmed her upcoming exit.
Well, you guys all heard it, the actress saidthrough tears, alluding to the articlesleading up to her departure. Ive decided that its time to move on. And I will say that today is very bittersweet for me.
[Whoopi Goldberg on Bill Cosby: Hes innocent until proven guilty]
The moment was reminiscent of Ann Currys awful forced goodbye from Today and a reminder that talkshows, in an attempt to find acombination of hosts that most appeals to an audience, can make those viewers extremelyuncomfortable asthey give someone a gentle shove out the door.
Though Perez didnt outright blame ABC, thanking the network for the opportunity, Variety reportedback in January that the network was looking to give her the boot after just four months on the show. The View has been in a slow state of disintegration since executive producer/den mother Barbara Walters left in May 2014, hiring and then shedding hosts includingJenny McCarthy, Sherri Shepherd and the polarizing Rosie ODonnell. Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck also left within the last two years.
Its become a running joke at this point: The hosts of Windy City Live, a programthat airs after The View on ABCs Chicago-based station, joked that the show is basically an airplane gate and people just exit and then they go on and then they exit and they go on. Pretty much sums it up.
In an attempt to stabilize things while still bumping up ratings (which have decreased in the past few years), producershired the ever-controversial Raven-Symon as a full-time co-host last month. She joins Goldberg and Nicolle Wallace, the former GOP strategist who started at the same time as Perez last September.
[Will controversy magnet Raven-Symon save The View?]
Meanwhile, there are more rumors about what The View has in store, as The Wrap reports producers are mulling arotating panel of co-hosts including new regular guest Michelle Collins. Whatever The View is doing in its post-Walters iteration, its probably best to find stability: History shows that viewers can quickly tire of a constant host shuffle.
Meanwhile, Perez cried as she thanked Goldberg, Wallace, network executivesand viewers, adding that she was honored to be the shows first Latina co-host. Goldberg urged Twitter to calm down and that Perez was not leaving today her last day is Aug. 6, when the show wraps up for the season.
Just know that I do not have one regret for coming to this show, Perez said. I would do it all over again, and its all because of you, the fans. Please know I will remain a friend of this show.
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Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2015/07/08/the-view-disintegrates-further-as-rosie-perez-confirms-exit/
