Elisabeth Hasselbeck: David Hernandez 'Idol' ouster a "conspiracy"

Reality TV World - Mansfield, MA, USA - Elisabeth Hasselbeck apparently thinks there's more behind David Hernandez's American Idol seventh-season ouster than just a lack of home viewer votes for the former male stripper.

"My mind went, 'You know what?  This is a conspiracy," said Hasselbeck during Thursday morning's live The View broadcast on ABC.  "American Idol maybe didn't want to deal with the fact that he had this shady -- so-called -- past and they blocked all of his phone calls of people voting for him.'"

Hasselbeck's fellow The View co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar weren't necessarily buying what the former Survivor: The Australian Outback castaway was selling.

"They blocked his phone calls?!" said a surprised Goldberg.

"No!" responded Behar.  "This is [Hasselbeck's] paranoia."

"I'm making up my own conspiracy theory.  This is my paranoia," agreed Hasselbeck.  "Because he's good -- he is good -- despite his... whatever he was doing on the side.  But I think he actually deserved the spot to be there and I feel like maybe they were just trying to get him off the show."