14 DAY TRIAL // It was a sad day when Jenny McCarthy and Sherri Shepherd were axed from The View talk show running on ABC. The two presenters were unceremoniously shown the door, and although there were some crying and some difficult parting moments, the network has since been trying to fill the two vacant seats.
One of them was occupied by Rosie O'Donnell, a woman who had previously been on the show, but that still left one chair empty. Today, Radar informs us that the last position on the show is going to be taken over by another Rosie, Rosie Perez, who has just signed a deal to appear on the women-only talk show.
A source claims that “Rosie was on the fence about doing it, but when news surfaced that ABC was looking elsewhere for A-list talent, like Ashley Judd, it spurred her decision.”
You might remember Rosie from the comedic movie “White Men Can't Jump,” where she played the loudmouthed girlfriend of Woody Harrelson's character. As far as her participation on The View, it's been told that she was originally “a long shot.”
Believe it or not, one of the main reasons the executive handling the show were reticent to bring her on board was that they didn't want two people with the same name on the show, “Rosie has been in the mix, but no one thought was going to happen. And ABC execs didn’t want to have two Rosie’s on the panel.”
But that wasn't the only reason she wasn't one of the runners-up, “The testing on Rosie was that her voice was too annoying and she was too old. But they ended up going with her because they wanted someone famous and she appeals to the Latina demographic.”
The decision came just in time as both “Rosie and Whoopi are exhausted with the process and just want this over.”
The last seat on the show is going to be filled by political commentator Nicolle Wallace, who was battling for the position with Extra's presenter Lauren Sanchez, and the two were said to be neck and neck in the race for the last seat.
These nominations became official just moments ago, when ABC confirmed that both Perez and Wallace would be replacing McCarthy and Shepherd on the show. The official announcement says, “These are powerful and accomplished women from different walks of life who have had amazing personal and professional experiences. Each brings incredible perspective and information to the table.”