Former “The Price Is Right” host Bob Barker, a noted animal-rights activist, thinks his criticism of the show kept him off yesterday’s 40th anniversary telecast.
“I certainly do,” Barker, 88, told The Post. “Look, the show is celebrating its 40th anniversary, and I did 35 years of those 40 years. Do you think there might be somebody out there in TV land who’d have liked to have seen me on the show?”
Barker left “Price” in 2007 but has continued to slam the show for doling out prizes to places and events he feels are cruel to animals — including last February’s trip to the Calgary Stampede, an annual rodeo event in Canada.
“It’s considered one of the most despicable of all the rodeos and has a terrible reputation,” Barker said.
“I’m ashamed of [the show’s] total disregard for animals.”
Barker says his previous complaints about a “Price” trip to Sea World (“a terrible place”) were ignored.
CBS had no comment, but insiders say yesterday’s telecast had nothing to do with Barker — and everything to do with the contestants.
“The show was about inviting back former contestants from the past 40 years,” said a source. “It would have been great to bring Bob back, but then the focus would have been on Bob — which would have been unfair for the people who were coming back.”