The View star Elizabeth Hasselbeck reveals details of being fired in new book Point of View

Former co-host says she was unable to breathe after being told her contract would not be renewed

Elisabeth Hasselbeck co-hostsFox & Friends' All American Concert Series outside of FOX Studios on 22 May, 2015 in New York City. ((Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images))

Elisabeth Hasselbeck has publicly shared an account of her 2013 firing from The View, detailing how distressed she was after finding out her contract would not be renewed on the ABC morning show.

Hasselbeck, a former contestant on Survivor, joined The View in 2003 as a permanent co-host, becoming a conservative voice on the programme.

She remained until 2013, working with Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, and Rosie O’Donnell among others.

In her new book, Point of View, released this Tuesday, Hasselbeck recalls feeling “unsettled” before being told her contract would not be renewed, and noticing several guest hosts such as Brooke Shields and Maria Menounos on the show.

According to Hasselbeck’s account, two “male figures”, whom she identifies as a producer on The View and an ABC executive, eventually knocked on her office door and told her that she would be replaced.

“I could not breathe – literally, could not breathe,” she writes, adding that she “asked permission” to go get her inhaler.

“I was bent over – shock, asthma and betrayal all stealing my wind,” she recounts.

Hasselbeck then says she asked if there was anything she could have done differently to improve her performance and was given a negative answer.

After the two men left, Hasselbeck says she spent an hour and a half “sobbing”.

“Feeling a dose of betrayal and a whopper of confusion, I felt like the walls of the building were folding in on me,” she adds.

The former co-host moved on to a position on Fox & Friends, where she stayed for two years before retiring.

An ABC representative contacted by The Independent said Hasselbeck was due to appear on The View later on Tuesday morning.