Entertainment

Save Elisabeth! After letting her dangle, Barbara pulls co-host off ledge

NO JOKE: Joy Behar (from left), Sherri Shepherd, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Barbara Walters on “The View” yesterday. (ABC)

What-the-hell was ABC thinking when they decided to torture Elisabeth Hasselbeck for three long days without relief?

I’m talking about the extended — and in retrospect, embarrassingly amateurish — publicity stunt they pulled by refusing all weekend to address the erroneous Us Weekly report that Hasselbeck was getting canned from “The View” because of her views. Too conservative for their viewer base, the story claimed. What?

In fact, it’s her outspoken right-wing views versus the other strong women who lean way in the other direction that add fuel to the fire — and heat up the ratings.

No, I don’t agree with her opinions, but I applaud her ability to raise her voice for her side. It makes for good TV.

Even though the story was completely false — according to Barbara Walters, who finally addressed the Hasselbeck humiliation on yesterday’s show — the ABC/Disney suits threw Elisabeth into the TV equivalent of Gitmo, without concern for life, limb or career longevity.

Was her career alive or dead?

They didn’t address it because they wanted a cheap stunt to generate interest, which is so dishonest it cheapens the show.

The show’s spokesperson even said, on Sunday, that they wouldn’t address it until yesterday.

It raises all sorts of questions about who fed the bad tip to the reporter who broke the story in the first place.

So, finally, as Hasselbeck sat there like a beaten dog yesterday, Barbara told viewers that “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 . . .

“We have no plans for Elisabeth to leave this show.”

Since they are saying that the story is false, why refuse to address it on Friday, when people in the news business were asking them if it was true? Or even by Sunday, when the media was all over them like a bad smell?

And bad smell it is. In fact, ABC’s lie-by-omission has stunk up the place worse than Mickey’s mouse droppings.

Walters, in what actually seemed like an explanation of what ABC did to Hasselbeck all weekend, said, almost out of nowhere, “Believe me, she’s tougher than she looks.”

Next week, ABC has planned water boarding for fun and ratings.