The View experienced several host changes through the end of season 9 and the start of season 10.
Vieira's departure
Meredith Vieira announced on April 6, 2006 that she was leaving the show to become co-host of NBC's The Today Show, which Barbara Walters co-hosted in the 1960s and 1970s, first with Hugh Downs, then with Frank McGee, and later Jim Hartz, replacing Katie Couric (who had just announced she was leaving Today to anchor the CBS Evening News). On April 28, 2006, an announcement was made at the 33rd Daytime Emmy Awards that former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell would be joining the show at the start of the tenth season in September 2006.
Jones Reynolds' departure
The announcement about O'Donnell fueled speculation that Jones Reynolds would also leave the show. One reason for this speculation was a dispute regarding O'Donnell's public remarks about Jones Reynolds' dramatic weight loss. (Jones Reynolds had publicly stated that the weight loss was a result of diet and exercise, but O'Donnell suggested that she was not being truthful, and that it was a result of gastric bypass surgery). In a 2007 issue of Glamour magazine, Jones Reynolds revealed that she had, in fact, undergone gastric bypass surgery in August 2003, leading to her dramatic weight loss over the next four years.
On June 27, 2006, Jones Reynolds announced her departure from the show on the air. Reynolds said she would remain on the show through July, but the next day Walters announced that Reynolds would no longer be a part of The View except for previously recorded segments. Both ABC and Jones Reynolds have publicly stated that the decision to not renew her contract was not related to the hiring of O'Donnell. In an interview with People magazine, Reynolds claimed the decision to leave was not hers, and that in April, producers told her that her contract would not be renewed. According to an interview with the Associated Press, Walters stated that ABC executives had apparently decided not to renew Jones Reynolds' contract as early as the previous fall due to diminished approval for the co-host which was showing up in their market research. Walters said, "We tried to talk them [network executives] out of it, and we tried to give Star time to redeem herself in the eyes of the audience, and the research just kept getting worse." Walters has publicly commented about feeling "betrayed" by Jones Reynolds, since Jones Reynolds unexpectedly made the announcement two days ahead of schedule. "I love Star and I was trying to do everything I possibly could — up until this morning, when I was betrayed — to protect her."
Following Jones Reynolds' departure, the show used guest co-hosts to fill her spot. Various media outlets reported that television personality Gayle King and actress Sheryl Lee Ralph were both interested in the job. Jones Reynolds eventually landed a job with AOL as an "AOL Coach" and subsequently negotiated a deal with Court TV to host her own one-hour talk show, Star Jones which premiered on August 20, 2007. This show lasted less than six months before being canceled likely due to low ratings and unfavorable reviews.
|
Join this Club
Invite friend 
Sign In or join Fanpop to add your comment