Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Barry Manilow vs. The View, Part 2: Is Manilow just causing controversy to promote his new album?


It’s a typical case of “He said, they said.”

Barry Manilow announced recently on his Website that he had boycotted his recent proposed appearance on The View because he disagreed with conservative Elisabeth Hasselbeck and didn’t want her to be the one interviewing him. Or even on the panel, for that matter.

Access Hollywood notes that Manilow is a longtime friend of recently-departed View member Rosie O’Donnell, and that his friendship with the former “Queen of Nice” may also have been a factor in his decision.

Manilow posted this on his Website on Monday, September 17: “…I wanted to let you know that I will no longer be on The View tomorrow as scheduled. I had made a request that I be interviewed by Joy [Behar], Barbara [Walters] or Whoopi [Goldberg], but not Elisabeth Hasselback [sic]. 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. The good news is that I will be on a whole slew of other shows promoting the new album so I hope you can catch me on those…”

Access Hollywood further reports that the folks at The View have a different story. They claim that it was the show, and not Manilow, that decided to cancel the booking because they would not allow the singer to decide who would interview him. As you can see from the picture above, Manilow has been on the show in the past with Hasselbeck there. Why the problem now? AH also reports something fascinating, saying that, ‘The sources suggest Manilow is causing a stir in order to create a buzz as his new album, Greatest Songs of the Seventies, is getting ready to debut.

Considering that Manilow reportedly recorded an unused duet with O’Donnell for the album, perhaps he’s trying to further get on her good side by trying to stick it to Hasselbeck.

Or perhaps Manilow is simply living by the code: controversy sells.

Most people remember Janet Jackson’s infamous “Wardrobe Malfunction”, but I wonder how many remember that she had a new album due out soon. Though the album didn’t fare well commercially, the idea is to promote your album by creating as much attention as possible.
(Photo courtesy of Access Hollywood)

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