NEW YORK—“Fashion Police” isn’t working, isn’t funny and isn’t condoned (at least, by some) for one simple reason: Joan Rivers isn’t there.
Rivers was the host in whose time-honored image “Fashion Police” was forged. Until her death at age 81 last summer, she made it required viewing for anyone looking to keep up with celebrities’ kooky couture while the potshots took those stars down a peg.
As host, Rivers was resolutely who she was throughout her long career: fearless, unapologetic and hilarious. She dished it out—and she took it.
With her death came the inevitable question: Could “Fashion Police” continue in her absence?
In January, E! Entertainment brought it back as a series of specials with Kathy Griffin as the new host, with the returning Kelly Osbourne and Giuliana Rancic, with Brad Goreski replacing George Kotsiopoulos, and Melissa Rivers, Joan’s daughter, remaining its executive producer.
On Thursday, Griffin took to Twitter to announce she was gone. She had stayed for just seven episodes.
Kelly left first
That was two weeks after Osbourne made her own brisk exit following Rancic’s red-carpet gibe about biracial singer-actress Zendaya’s dreadlocks. Rancic had joked that they suggested the smell of marijuana. Zendaya accused her of racism.
On Friday, Osbourne tweeted congratulations to Griffin: “I could not be more proud of you.”
In her statement, Griffin said, “I do not want to use my comedy to contribute to a culture of unattainable perfectionism and intolerance towards difference,” adding that her goal is “to help women, gay kids, people of color and anyone who feels underrepresented to have a voice and a laugh!”
But this was like saying you ditched your bartending job because you realized they make you sell alcohol. Or, to quote Piers Morgan’s tweet: “Kathy Griffin’s quit ‘Fashion Police’ because she doesn’t like their mean humor? Ironically, one of the few times she’s ever made me laugh.”
Indeed, her parting manifesto would suggest she never saw “Fashion Police” in its glory days. No doubt, she made a sensible departure from the gig, which she clearly wasn’t suited for. AP