Hasselbeck gets teary-eyed as she delivers her goodbye speech and praises each of co-hosts Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd and Barbara Walters.
- Jul 11, 2013
AceShowbiz - Wednesday, July 10 was officially Elisabeth Hasselbeck's last day on "The View" as it had been reported before. Walking into the studio arm-in-arm with Barbara Walters who admitted she's "a little verklempt" about Hasselbeck's departure, the former "Survivor" contestant delivered her farewell speech early in the episode.
"First of all, I'm really happy and excited to confirm that, indeed, I will be joining the 'Fox & Friends' team in September," she said. "I would first like to thank...the entire Fox News channel for this incredible opportunity. Today is officially my last day at 'The View'. For a decade, I've been able to work efficiently at this table only because everyone behind the scenes as worked more efficiently."
She went on thanking each of the co-hosts. "Whoopi... You are one of the most talented artists on this planet, but...you are even more loving than you are talented," she said of Whoopi Goldberg, who was fighting back tears. "You are walking unconditional love...and I am just blessed to have gotten to call myself a friend of yours."
When moving to Joy Behar, she admitted that they "have spent the past ten years sparring over politics, but I have the most insane amount of respect for you." She added, "I even like when Joy has the ability to throw a one-liner in and make me laugh even when I don't want to. So, I love you. I truly do."
Sherri Shepherd wasn't there to bid farewell to Hasselbeck, so the 36-year-old television personality jokingly said, "Sherri Shepherd, your protest of absence is not working." She additionally called Shepherd "my sister in Christ, my friend for life."
Hasselbeck also had nothing but praises for Walters, the creator, executive producer and co-host of the show. "Truly because of all that you have taught me, I was prepared to interview political candidates. I feel more than prepared at this point - because of all that you have given me - to move forward. I couldn't have asked for a better leader and mentor," she thanked the veteran journalist.
Walters said in return, "I have enormous affection for you... You're going to leave a big void at this table," adding that they're in no rush to find her replacement and she's always welcome back to the show.
Behar poked fun one last time at Hasselbeck, "First of all, Fox, gee. Won't you be a fish out of water there?" She said in a more serious note, "When we got into it, it was exciting for the show, I think. Everybody always thinks that we were mad at each other, which we never were...because we're professionals. I'm glad to see that you're moving into a great job."
"I just think that you're that cat's meow," Goldberg added. "You've been a really good friend to me and I appreciate you. And may we both continue to grow because that's life, right?"
Hasselbeck was first rumored to leave "The View" in March, but Walters shot it down as saying, "There is a particularly false story that keeps getting picked up about Elisabeth's alleged departure, saying that we don't approve of her conservative views. The truth is, we love Elisabeth. I like her personally, and she's just a wonderful person...So we have no plans for Elisabeth to leave the show."
Behar had earlier announced her plan to quit the talk show at the end of the current season and Walters followed later with her own retirement plan, which would begin in summer 2014.
