'The View' Former Cast Member Rosie Perez Says She's 'Excited' For New Season 19 Hosts

While some members of the most recent panel on ABC’s “The View” are less than thrilled with the circumstances of their exit from the show, one former panelist is still excited for the new season. Rosie Perez, who recently departed the show in Season 18, had nothing but kind things to say about the newly revealed crop of Season 19 hosts.

For those that are unfamiliar with the most recent changes to the cast of “The View,” it was revealed on Tuesday that, when the show returns on Sept. 8, the panel will consist of returning members Whoopie Goldberg, Raven Symoné and Michelle Collins. The show announced newcomers Candace Cameron Bure, currently starring in “Fuller House,” and “Good Morning America Weekend” co-anchor Paula Faris. The final addition to the cast will be some old blood from previous seasons of the show. After exiting in 2013 with 16 Seasons of “The View” under her belt, comedian Joy Behar will make her triumphant return to the table. Behar is returning despite previously saying that she’d been approached to come back to the show following its very rocky year, but turned down the network’s offer.

“I think it’s fantastic,” Perez told Access Hollywood at the Delta Open Mic event in New York City on Aug. 26. “I think they’re going to have a ball and I’m really happy for them. You know? It’s all love.”

Perez was one of three women to abruptly exit the show during its 2015 run. Rosie O’Donnell returned briefly but apparently didn’t get along with Goldberg. O’Donnell’s previous run was marked by her abrasive and politically charged conversations with her fellow panelists and her return offered more of the same. Soon after, Nicole Wallace was dismissed from the show after she failed to bring enough of a well-rounded perspective to the group. Wallace previously told Variety that she was not pleased with the way her firing was handled by the network.

Perez, meanwhile, had one of the more graceful exits from the series, backing out after just part of one season. According to Entertainment Weekly, the 50-year-old Broadway star claimed that the reason she was leaving the show was to better focus on her acting career. The “White Men Can’t Jump” actress took a brief hiatus during Season 18 to appear in a Broadway play, something that was apparently very taxing on her. Although some speculate that behind-the-scenes drama led to her early departure, the excuse isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

Whatever the case, it seems there are no hard feelings between Perez and her former co-hosts as she wished them luck heading into Season 19, saying she was “excited for them.”