Geddie: Barry doesn't call the shots

NEW YORK, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- "The View" producer Bill Geddie is standing by Elisabeth Hasselbeck in the wake of Barry Manilow's canceled appearance on the New York TV talk show.

Manilow said he didn't want to appear on the same stage as Hasselbeck because her conservative views were dangerous and offensive.

The singer had been scheduled to stop by the ABC gab-fest Tuesday to promote his new CD, "Greatest Songs of the Seventies," but he told TMZ.com he didn't want to hang out with Hasselbeck because of his friendship with former "View" moderator Rosie O'Donnell.

An on-air dust-up between O'Donnell and Hasselbeck led to O'Donnell's early departure from the show last spring.

Manilow's absence was not discussed by the panelists on Tuesday's show and his guest spot was filled by Fox News Channel legal analyst Megyn Kelly who discussed the O.J. Simpson case and the disappearance of little Madeleine McCann.

"View" host Barbara Walters said on her Sirius radio show Monday that it was "too bad" Manilow bailed, TMZ.com said.

Geddie, who hosts the program with Walters, added: "We don't do that ... we support everybody ... he's not going to call the shots."