The ghost of Joan Rivers is exacting her revenge on Fashion Police. How else do you explain the sudden departures of hosts Kelly Osborne and most recently, noted feminist and gay activist Kathy Griffin?
Via an awesome Twitter press release, Griffin listed her credentials — trophy snatcher, patriot and eternal friend of Joan among them — before basically calling her Fashion Police cohorts a bunch of unfunny body Nazis who wouldn’t know a joke if it slapped them across the face with a Givenchy glove:
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) March 13, 2015
The most obvious heir apparent to Rivers’ brand of brass and ballsy humor, Griffin joined E!’s resident shade parade after the legendary comedian’s untimely passing. However, once Giuliana Rancic stuck her Louboutin in her mouth with offensive comments about Disney star Zendaya’s dreadlocks, Griffin must have realized the “creative direction” of the show: right down the toilet.
h/t: Vulture
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Xzamilio
The Zendaya mess was an easy out for Kelly and Kathy… it was pretty obvious that neither wanted any part of that show anymore, and Kathy Griffin’s shtick was limited given the material she had to work with… they should have laid this show to rest with Joan Rivers… wasn’t even that good when she was alive anyway.
Ladbrook
Seems like there’s more going on here, behind the scenes, that we know nothing about. Griffin basically started lobbying for that gig almost from the moment Joan was buried, so it just seems BIZARRE that she would walk away after just 7 weeks. It doesn’t add up.
As host, Griffin should be able to imprint her brand of humor on the show, and that takes longer than 7 weeks to accomplish. Maybe E! is to blame: bad producers?… money?… Rancic being a c*nt to the others off-air?
Again, something’s not right, and no one wants to discuss it publically.
redcarpet30
Oh I can’t wait till she dishe’s about this in her act! Like Mana from gay heaven!
Cam
I have a feeling that if the ratings were going up and critics weren’t trashing the show Kelly and Kathy might have found a way to stay. 😉
lauraspencer
Did Kathi not watch the show before she accepted the job? Sounds like E! didn’t want Kathi there and this is a way for her to exit without it appearing that she was fired.
cflekken
The fact that she chose to spout off her resume in the first few lines of that Twitter release says more about what was going on then just “difference in style”. I won’t elaborate further as I hope others can figure it out. But, let’s just say I’m not a Kathy Griffin fan, and this just serves to further distance myself from this incredibly unfunny character.
Cam
The show honestly was the Joan Rivers Show. The others were just there to laugh when she said something, and to be used as foils for her jokes or look shocked when she said something shocking.
The same comment that got Julianna Rancic in trouble wouldn’t have raised eyebrows if Joan had said it, and if it did, then Joan would have told everybody to f-off and she would have gotten away with it.
She was the show, and the show was her. No wonder they can’t keep it going, without Joan it’s just a bunch of not very funny people trying to make bitchy comments about clothing.
Alan down in Florida
Joan Rivers openly fought with the writing staff for years. Obviously she had good reason to. Watching poor Kathi on the post-Oscars show was painful. She looked like she had an iron rod up her bum and such a phony wide smile that she looked like a ventriloquist’s dummy reading the writers’ jokes off the teleprompter. Time to let the show be buried. It died when Joan did.
Captain Obvious
@Cam: Joan would’ve also been able to say it in a way that wouldn’t have hurt people and she wouldn’t have said it about someone who’s essentially still a child. It was just nasty and mean.
Joan is a comedian, Rancid is not. Huge difference.
People can say what they want about Kelly and Kathy but I side with them over the stupid show that was clearly trying way too hard to be offensive and “funny”. Joan knew how to make it work and she was also an old woman to boot… old ladies can say things younger people cannot possibly get away with.
I noticed the original guy from Fashion Police was gone too and replaced with some new guy who wasn’t remotely funny. Too many odd decisions. They really should’ve renamed the show and started from scratch.
stranded
@Alan down in Florida: Totally. I was excited for her takeover, but during the award seasons I thought she was stiff. Though her hair game and style game were on POINT. She looked great. One thing i do have to say, as much as i loved her, especially during the Life on the D List years. Her shtick is quite stale. Seacrest is my nemesis, my mother drinks wine and watches Fox news, I’ve got a killer bod, i love my gays, repeat repeat, repeat.
jorgecruz
That manufactured drama over Zendaya was stupid. It wasn’t even that controversial or funny- Zendaya just needed a little press and takes herself way too seriously. In a couple years when she is on Celebrity Apprentice, she will be wishing someone was talking about her.
Kathy Griffin has turned in to a dvr comedian. You know everything she is going to say, she is so used to going on talk shows and giving her same shtick that when she had to be funny off the cuff, she just couldn’t pull it off anymore. She went from fucking over the stars to being a starfucker and she lost her edge. Kelly Osbourne threatens to leave? So what, name any other show she will get a job on ? Giuliana is fine, just quit apologizing. Brad is actually funnier than George. I think if they can get one more person that will let the insults fly without worrying about the blowback, the show could regain its former fun.
Its pretty sad to see that Kathy Griffin has turned in to Milton Berle, working the same tired bits and acting all high and mighty. ( Andrew Dice Clay, your replacement is on her way ) She used to be funny, but I suppose Pam Anderson used to be hot so nothing lasts forever.
dtxgwm
@Ladbrook, no reason to use the c word.. come on.. we can do better than this.
Cam
@jorgecruz: said…”She went from fucking over the stars to being a starfucker and she lost her edge.”
____________________
So true!
Realitycheck
Who knows what really happen, usually this kind of PR statements from both
side are simply meant to minimize any friction.
Definitely Joan Rivers had a unique and incredible talent,
aka big shoes to fill for anyone.
And Kate Griffin is too caustic, a bad choice from E, I think even Alec Mapa would have done a better job then Kate.
MarionPaige
The best part about this article and the comments here is being reminded that the world is finally rid of f-king Joan Rivers. It’s like DEATH is the proof that there is a God.
What’s better than paying someone to kill Joan Rivers?
Answer: Having the bitch herself pay people to kill her.
jorgecruz
Marion when you stop hating yourself for secretly being gay and finally quit trolling all these gay websites under the guise of “fighting the homosexual agenda” , we won’t keep you out of the gay pride parade. Hating yourself and pretending your something that your not is exhausting. Come down off the cross, we can use the wood to build a big gay bonfire.
Merv
It was a hippy joke, not a black joke, although I can understand why it was misinterpreted. It’s too bad Kathy jumped on the bandwagon with this silly “body shaming” post. In the same episode, Kathy told a joke comparing Kevin Hart to Tattoo from Fantasy Island, and Kelly literally fell out of her chair laughing. That wasn’t body shaming?
NJjoe
I saw her Saturday night and in her she got a little serious, basically said she realized it wasn’t her thing, she is a feminist and to dish out about what women were wearing, it wasn’t her kind of comedy. She pretty much moved on after a brief talk about FP.
NJjoe
Opps! I meant “and in her act she got a little serious.”
NJjoe
Nobody can do FP but Joan. She is irreplaceable. No one can fill those heels.
I think the show will eventually implode on it’s own. We’ll see…
Cam
@NJjoe:
I think it isn’t her thing because she just wasn’t very good at it. It wasn’t funny, and Kelly realized that without somebody really funny carrying the whole show, the show was going to die a slow death anyway.
MAYBE if they had somebody very bitchy who also knew fashion to sit there with Kathy, and ramp up Kathy’s bitchiness it might have worked. Put Rachel Zoe or Michael Cors next to her and it might have worked. Then they could keep Kelly and Juliana to dutifully laugh or looked shocked depending upon the situation.
Oli1023
@Ladbrook: Actually she didn’t. She took the job because she wanted to honor Joan.
MarionPaige
The way to “honor” Joan Rivers would be to shove your fist down some old bitch’s throat
Clark35
*Yawn* It’s Kathy Griffin she’s a publicity wh0re and only pretends to care about gay men and LGBT rights just for media attention.