Barry Manilow canceled his scheduled appearance on "The View" today after producers refused his request to not appear on the show with co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
"I had made a request that I be interviewed by Joy, Barbara or Whoopi, but not Elisabeth Hasselbeck," Manilow said in a statement on his website. "Unfortunately, the show was not willing to accommodate this simple request so I bowed out. It’s really too bad because I've always been a big supporter of the show, but I cannot compromise my beliefs."
Manilow’s decision to skip the ABC talkshow means he is also willing to take a financial hit for his beliefs, since his appearance was meant to coincide with the release of his new album "The Greatest Songs of the Seventies" today and "The View" audience would surely translated into thousands of sales.
"He said he’ll appear with everybody but Elizabeth – well, we don’t do that," "View" producer Bill Geddie said on Barbara Walters new Sirius radio show "Barbara Live" last night. "It’s just not the way it works here, we support everybody. He said ‘I’ll do Barbara and Whoopi, or I’ll do Whoopi and Sherri, or some combination, but I won’t sit with Elisabeth.’ And I said ‘Well, then you won’t be on the show, it’s that simple.’"
"And if you disagree with somebody’s political point of view you don’t come on?" asked Walters. "We’re called The View because we have different points of view."
She then broke into a version of "I Write the Songs," changing the words to "I write the songs that make the whole world sing provided they happen to be liberals."
Obviously, producers need to be in control of their shows. However, they do switch their hosts around and it’s not unusual for only two of the co-hosts to interview a guest, especially a musician. (When Kenny Chesney was on last week, Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd were the only ones to talk to him.)
Whether or not Manilow’s public protest starts a movement among musicians to press for Hasselbeck’s ouster remains to be seen.
Walters and Geddie were quick to point out that noted liberals Susan Sarandon and Jane Fonda never refused to sit with Hasselbeck. However, the issues many have with Hasselbeck (myself included) don’t really have anything to do with her conservative viewpoint, they have to do with her lack of logic and lack of compassion at times, which even Walters and the other co-hosts have increasingly taken to pointing out.
Remember when Alicia Silverstone noticeably refused to greet Hasselbeck during a segment and rushed to hug Rosie O’Donnell? Maybe that’s how stars should start reflecting their views. After all, most stars are smart enough to know that picking a fight with Hasselbeck on her own turf only eats away at their own time to promote whatever project they’re on the show for.
"I strongly disagree with her views," Manilow told TMZ.com. "I think she's dangerous and offensive. I will not be on the same stage as her."
PHOTO: Barry Manilow/Arista Records