The Untold Truth Of Fashion Police
It has been nearly two years since the passing of Joan Rivers, and the hosts of Fashion Police have yet to get it together and get the show back on track. Known for her brutal honesty and hilarious commentary on the red carpet, Rivers' comedic personality made Fashion Police a hit. No one was safe from her harsh opinions, but without her to keep it real on set, it seems the show has fallen apart. Drama has taken over, proving that without Joan Rivers, the show just can't survive!
Brad Goreski's strange demand
After four seasons as a co-host on the show, celebrity stylist George Kotsiopoulos was replaced by Brad Goreski, who is also a stylist. Goreski is best known for his appearance on reality show The Rachel Zoe Project when he was Rachel Zoe's assistant, which led to his own spinoff show It's a Brad, Brad World. Since he has joined the cast of Fashion Police, he has been accused of being at the heart of the drama between hosts off-set, even demanding that the show doesn't criticize any of the celebrities he works on, according to Radar Online. This includes a list of actresses such as Jessica Alba, Christina Ricci, and Demi Moore. So, basically irrelevant celebrities who would likely not end up on the show anyway.
Kathy Griffin replaces Joan Rivers… for 5 seconds
Comedian Kathy Griffin was offered the position as host of Fashion Police after a short break from filming was taken to pay respect to the legacy of Joan Rivers. Reviews on Griffin's first appearance were mixed, as fans likely felt that no one could replace Rivers successfully. Griffin ended up leaving the show after two short months, when the show became the focus of controversy due to statements made by co-host Giuliana Rancic. The statement she made explaining why she was leaving the show made it pretty clear that she was given little-to-no creative freedom with the jokes made during filming. In her statement (via Us Weekly) she said, "My brand of humor, while unrepentant and unafraid, is all about CONTEXT. I hope to continue to make you all laugh performing live or on television where I can be smart, irreverent, unrepentant, and unafraid in an observational way that is candid, honest, and justified."
Melissa Rivers says Griffin s*** on her mother's legacy
Melissa Rivers, daughter of Joan Rivers and executive producer of Fashion Police, felt Kathy Griffin threw shade at her mother's legacy during her short stint on the show and especially didn't like the comments she made on her reason for leaving the show. When speaking on the Today Show (via USA Today) she said, "My biggest complaint was the feeling that she kind of s*** all over my mother's legacy in her statement on leaving. And I know that was not an intentional reading of it, but that's how I felt...that was my takeaway by [her] calling the comedy and the style of it old-fashioned." Melissa went on to say that she understood Griffin only made her statement in attempt to save her career, and alluded to the fact that Griffin left the show after she found out she was being let go.
Kelly Osbourne quits after Giuliana Rancic makes a colossal mistake
Fashion Police took their comedy too far when they wrote a joke for Giuliana Rancic regarding 18-year-old Disney star Zendaya's hair. The comment referred to an assumption that Zendaya's dreadlocks must smell like "patchouli" and "weed", causing an epic uproar and serious threats against Rancic across social media. Kelly Osbourne, who was a co-host during the time this comment was made, was outraged. She came forward on social media stating that not only does she not condone racism, but that she had questioned the joke when it was originally made during rehearsal. Even though E! claims Osbourne leaving the show had nothing to do with Rancic's comments, Osbourne has gone out of her way to make sure the public knows that it most certainly was. Both she and Griffin have made statements since leaving the show saying they don't agree with the comments made about women's bodies, allegedly calling the show anti-feminist and old fashion.
The joke about Zendaya's hair was edited
It seems the public wasn't given the whole story when Rancic made her controversial comments regarding Zendaya's hair. PEOPLE was able to get their hands on a tape that revealed the show in its entirety, which showed that there were several parts of the joke that had been edited out. The original joke made comments about her hair being too heavy and that too boho for the red carpet. Rancic also said that Zendaya is usually more high-fashion and that this look made her look more like a hippie, which led to comments about her hair smelling of weed. It was never meant to appear as if Rancic was making comments about her race, but editing certainly made it seem that way.
The show revolved around the Rivers family
In addition to being an executive producer on the show, Melissa Rivers also became a host of Fashion Police after Griffin and Osborne left. Alongside Goreski and Rancic, Rivers attempted to continue her mother's legacy and add fresh opinions to the show with a rotating guest host spot on each episode. Since the show's start, co-hosts have expressed their opinions regarding the Rivers' family, and Melissa taking over as host seems to confirm their claims. It has been rumored that this is a Rivers-run program, providing the other hosts little to no creative freedom. Not implausible, considering we now know that the hosts don't write their own jokes.
NeNe Leakes brings more drama to the set
NeNe Leakes, best known for starring on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, recently joined the cast of Fashion Police alongside fashion designer and comedian Margaret Cho. The moment Leakes got on set, rumors spread that she was butting heads with everyone, especially Cho, who fights with Leakes for attention on the show. Leakes has gone on record to say that she is nothing but professional on set and her co-hosts have backed up these claims – in public at least. However, Leakes has come forward to say that their rumored friendship with other hosts is far from the truth, and that there's obvious tension on set. In an exclusive interview with Love B Scott, the housewife said, "It's very weird. Let me tell you what happens — when you arrive on set, everybody goes to their dressing rooms. When they say 'come out', everyone comes out and sits on the couch. There's no talking, no communication, nothing." The public became suspicious of tension on set when Leakes tweeted earlier this year, "It really sucks working on an unfriendly, unfair set! Can you imagine? Especially when you haven't done anything to anyone? Just why?" She never confirmed what set this tweet was regarding but most speculate that it's about being on the set of Fashion Police as the timeline seems to fit.
Joan Rivers likely happy the show is failing
When asked in an interview on the Today Show (via USA Today) what Melissa felt her mother would think regarding all of this drama, Melissa said she had a feeling her mother would be happy knowing the show couldn't go on successfully without her. "I think there might be a little bit of a twinkle in her eye, saying 'Y'all couldn't do it without me, could ya?'" As the matriarch of the team, it seems Joan was more than just a colleague to the original cast, and often played a motherly role when disputes erupted. Melissa made it clear that the events that unfolded after Rancic's comments about Zendaya's hair would never have occurred had her mother still been around. "If something like that had happened and my mother had been alive, her reaction immediately would have been, 'Are you serious? Oh, please. All this over a wig?' Literally, it was a wig. Let's just all relax." Melissa then talks about how her mother would have called both Rancic and Osbourne, who started feuding after Rancic's comments aired on the show, and yelled at each of them until things were settled. These days, Melissa claims the Fashion Police family is all on good terms and like most families, they just needed some time apart.