The Only Recap Of Giuliana Rancic's Downfall You Need

For a generation of people, Giuliana Rancic is the face of celebrity fashion, or at least the analysis thereof. From 2010 to 2017, she served as a panelist/co-host for E!'s "Fashion Police," which saw her join the likes of Joan Rivers, Kelly Osbourne, George Kotsiopoulos, and others give their commentary on the fashion wins and losses of famed entertainers. More than that, though, Rancic was one of the faces of E! at large, having joined the network in the early 2000s as an entertainment reporter, before becoming an "E! News" anchor, red-carpet maven, and a "Fashion Police" staple. She also starred alongside her husband, "Apprentice" winner Bill Rancic, in the reality television series "Giuliana and Bill," which chronicled their partnership.

Despite her success over two decades with E!, though, and her incredible rise to the upper crust of showbiz punditry, Rancic's career and life journey have also been perilous to the point that we don't really hear from her anymore. From hard-to-watch interviews and ill-advised comments that were heard in every corner of Hollywood, to personal struggles, the Italian-born star had no shortage of tragic happenings as she tumbled back down the mountain that is celebrity life. What follows is the only recap of Rancic's decline you need.

Years before Giuliana Rancic flirted with full-on cancellation with her fashion commentary, she made a number of missteps during some awkward red-carpet interviews on E! television. She made a pair of gaffes during the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Awards. During an interview with "Glee" star Chris Colfer, Rancic leaned hard into what some flagged as gay stereotypes, asking the Golden Globe winner, "Do you just sit there, like, watching 'The Real Housewives' and then you just look up and you go, 'Wow!'" after Colfer revealed he kept his statuette near his television, as recounted by Jezebel. At the same event, she was insensitive to Native Americans, referring to Justin Timberlake as an "Indian giver" during an interview with Geoffrey Arend and his wife, Christina Hendricks of "Mad Men," after Timberlake had given Arend a bottle of whiskey he received from her.

Then, at the 2013 Golden Globes, Rancic seemingly ran afoul of Aziz Ansari for asking him to show her some dance moves, as recounted by BuzzFeed. "Based on my chocolate skin tone?" he asked, later mentioning a stereotype about Indian men knowing how to "dance really well." Whether she meant any ill will or not, Rancic continued with the bit, prodding him for a dance despite his apparent discomfort. In response, Ansari showed her a quick move and dubbed it, "What? That's racist. Don't say that again."

Without question, the biggest faux pas ever committed by Giuliana Rancic during her time on E!, be it during award show interviews or while commenting on celebrity fits as a "Fashion Police" panelist, came in 2015 on the latter program when she attempted to make a joke about Zendaya's hair. The future "Spider-Man" star, then just 18 years old and leading Disney's "K.C. Undercover," attended the Oscars in dreadlocks that year. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Rancic was critical of Zendaya's look, making a poorly conceived crack about the actress' hair, saying, "I feel like she smells like patchouli oil or weed. Maybe weed." The comment drew criticism from the public at large, Rancic's co-hosts, and Zendaya herself, who said it reinforced negative stereotypes.

"There is a fine line between what is funny and disrespectful. Someone said something about my hair at the Oscars that left me in awe," Zendaya wrote in a statement, via Instagram. "Not because I was relishing in rave outfit reviews, but because I was hit with ignorant slurs and pure disrespect." Added Zendaya, "There is already harsh criticism of African American hair in society without the help of others who choose to judge others based on the curl of their hair." She also took issue with the connection made by Rancic between her hairstyle and drug use. By all accounts, the comment nearly ended Rancic's career.

As one might expect, Giuliana Rancic found herself in hot water after her "Fashion Police" controversy. As a result, Rancic promptly offered apologies for the "patchouli oil or weed" statement, both on air and via social media. "I want to apologize for a comment that I made on last night's 'Fashion Police' about Zendaya's hair," she said before E! cameras. "As you know, 'Fashion Police' is a show that pokes fun at celebrities in good spirit but I do understand that something I said last night did cross the line. I just want everyone to know I didn't intend to hurt anybody, but I've learned it is not my intent that matters; it's the result. And the result is that people are offended, including Zendaya, and that is not okay." She added that she would be more aware of stereotypes and cliches in the future. 

In a tweet about the incident, Rancic claimed that she was referring solely to a "Bohemian chic look." Reports later circulated that part of Rancic's joke was allegedly edited out, with an "insider" claiming that the joke was crafted by the show's writers and that it also included a crack about the Grateful Dead that didn't make air. In any case, the damage was done, and the attempts to mitigate it weren't successful in the end.

The fallout of Giuliana Rancic's Zendaya joke, if one can truly refer to it as such, was wide-ranging, and it wasn't limited to angry viewers or pop culture pundits, either. In fact, the woman who was sitting next to her on the "Fashion Police" set when the comment was made, Kelly Osbourne, took exception to it in a major way. Osbourne eventually wrote, via X (formerly Twitter), in the immediate aftermath of the incident, "I DID NOT MAKE THE WEED COMENT. I DO NOT CONDONE RACISM SO AS A RSULT OF THIS IM SEREIOULSY QUESTIONONIG STAYING ON THE SHOW!"

That post was the precursor to Osbourne's eventual "Fashion Police" exit. As reported by ABC News, E! announced her exit from the show just a few days later. Months later, Osbourne didn't hold back with her assessment of Rancic as a person while attending the NYX Face Awards in Los Angeles, telling TheWrap, "I will never admit to liking Giuliana because I don't. I don't think she's a good person, and I think she's a liar." Osbourne added that she might consider a return to the show "if certain people weren't there."

Kelly Osbourne wasn't the only "Fashion Police" panelist to comment about Giuliana Rancic's poorly received remark about Zendaya's dreadlocks at the 2015 Oscars. So, too, did comedian Kathy Griffin, who had stepped into the spot once occupied by the late Joan Rivers just before the incident. As relayed by Billboard, Griffin opined that Rancic probably should have left the telling of jokes, good or bad, to a professional comedian, telling the Chicago Sun-Times' Splash magazine, "Don't have anyone write you jokes or even suggest jokes for you on 'Fashion Police' ... You have enough great insider gossip from actually being on the red carpet. That's what fans want to hear the next day. Just talk and be yourself." Griffin further noted that she wouldn't have uttered the joke herself.

Griffin later followed Osbourne's lead, leaving "Fashion Police" less than three months — and just seven episodes — after her tenure on the show began. The comedian later took to social media to explain her surprising exit, seemingly criticizing the show on her way out. "Listen, I'm no saint — I'm a feminist and a Gurrrrl who loves an offensive joke or a well-timed barb," she wrote, via X. "But I do not want to use my comedy to contribute to a culture of unattainable perfectionism and intolerance toward difference. I want to help women, gay kids, people of color, and anyone who feels underrepresented to have a voice and LAUGH!" 

In the wake of the Zendaya incident, as well as the sudden departures of Kelly Osbourne and Kathy Griffin, respectively, reports began to circulate about Giuliana Rancic's behavior behind the scenes during the production of "Fashion Police." While Rancic's joke clearly rattled her cohorts on the show, a 2015 RadarOnline report suggested that the Naples, Italy native wasn't exactly easy to deal with, which may have played a larger role in Osbourne and Griffin electing to chart new courses for themselves. "Giuliana's entourage of a stylist, make-up artist, and assistant, plus her constant need for attention, were absolutely stunning to Kathy," a purported insider told the outlet. "Kathy is extremely low-maintenance, and doesn't need to pay people to follow her around all day."

The source further referenced tapings of the show being "difficult," due to Rancic reportedly requiring constant make-up touch-ups. Additionally, the insider claimed that Rancic was perpetually seeking "approval and compliments" from the "Fashion Police" crew. Whether those comments accurately reflect Rancic's behavior or not, there was certainly a lot of smoke surrounding the situation.

Kelly Osbourne and Kathy Griffin weren't the final dominoes to fall in the aftermath of Zendaya-gate. Although she retained her spots on "Fashion Police" and "E!'s Live From the Red Carpet," Giuliana Rancic's role at the E! network changed considerably shortly after the incident. Just a few months later, she officially stepped away from her E! News role despite having spent a decade-plus on the show, cementing herself as one of the faces of the network along the way.

In a statement announcing the move, Rancic reflected on the show's success, via CNN, saying that she would miss the "family" she had built during her time as a co-host. She also expressed excitement that she would be continuing with her other shows and hyped her involvement on the Oxygen project, "Rich in Faith." Said then-E! GM Adam Stotsky, "During her time here, Giuliana played an instrumental role in building 'E! News' into a global entertainment news powerhouse and, while we will miss seeing her on set every day, we are delighted to continue to work with her on 'Fashion Police' and 'Live From the Red Carpet.'" Although neither mentioned her Oscars gaffe, one can't help but wonder how it affected the E! News shuffle.

While Giuliana Rancic's life on camera was eventful, the celebrity guru encountered real adversity behind the scenes. In 2011, she announced on "Today" that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, as noted by CBS News; a diagnosis that was totally unexpected. "That was the hardest day ... [the emotions are] what you expect but so much more," Rancic said of the mammogram result that revealed her illness. "It was incredible instant sobbing, and it was like the world just crashed down around me. I couldn't believe it, 36 years old, no family history." Rancic eventually went on to have a double mastectomy.

Rancic and her husband also combated fertility issues that were complicated by her cancer diagnosis. In a 2018 blog for CCRM Fertility, Rancic said she was "blindsided" by fertility issues at the age of 33, noting that "multiple rounds of IVF, miscarriage, and heartbreak" were in her future. After finally having a son, Duke, through a surrogate, the couple later suffered through multiple surrogate miscarriages as they attempted to grow their family. Meanwhile, the filming of "Giuliana and Bill" put excess strain on their marriage. "I think what happens is reality shows, for a couple, they accelerate your relationship," she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2012. "So, if you are destined to have problems and fall apart, a reality show will only accelerate it."

As if her work issues, infertility struggles, and cancer diagnosis weren't enough to contend with, Giuliana Rancic has also been subjected to rumors and outright concern about her increasingly slight frame. At various junctures, the internet sparked speculation that she was losing weight at an alarming rate and/or could be dealing with health crises beyond and including the potential return of her cancer. For her part, Rancic — who claimed that cancer-suppressing medication had played a role in her weight loss — understood to a degree why her physical appearance had become a hot-button issue on the celebrity blogosphere. "I never want my weight to distract people from what I do," she told People in 2015. "But it is becoming a distraction, [whenever] I wear something sleeveless, show my arms, my back." 

For a woman who previously dealt with scoliosis and who had lived in the public eye while commenting on other people's appearances for a living, it was a lot. "I look in the mirror and it's hard for me," she confessed to the outlet. "I am really thin. I want to look fit and beautiful and sexy, and I can't." Nevertheless, Rancic vowed to continue living her best possible life. "I refuse to be broken [by what people say]," Rancic said. "I have so many beautiful things in my life."

There's no question that Giuliana Rancic has gotten herself in hot water with comments she made while interviewing celebrities on the red carpet. However, there was at least one occasion where she happened to be in the wrong place, talking to the wrong person, at the wrong time, and the end result was more controversy for the E! network. Such was the case at the 2018 Golden Globes when Rancic interviewed "Will & Grace" star Debra Messing at the height of the Time's Up movement, during which prominent women in Hollywood were battling systemic harassment, abuse, and inequality in the workplace.

As Messing stepped up to Rancic for the chat, it was the E! host who brought up Time's Up, after which the actress thanked the whistleblowers at the forefront of the movement and explained, "We want diversity, we want intersectional gender parity, we want equal pay." However, she then proceeded to call out the E! network itself over former host Catt Sadler's commentary on pay inequality, saying, "I was so shocked to hear that E! doesn't believe in paying their female co-hosts the same as their male co-hosts. I mean, I miss Catt Sadler. We stand with her, and that's something that can change tomorrow. We want people to start having this conversation that women are just as valuable as men." It was a great message from Messing, but probably not one that E! wanted on its airwaves, nor one Rancic wanted to take heat for.

As the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. In 2021, Giuliana Rancic's two-decade run at the E! network that she helped build into a force in the entertainment industry officially reached its expiration point, as she bid adieu to the red carpet for good. "After 20 fabulous years hosting E!'s red carpet, I have decided to step out of my red carpet heels into a new pair of shoes," Rancic said in a statement that May. "To my E! family, thank you for allowing me to make my red carpet dreams come true for the past two decades. It's truly been a highlight of my career and life." Rancic also announced she would be collaborating with E!'s parent company, NBCUniversal, in the future. Rancic later hooked up with HSN to design and sell her own clothing line, G by Giuliana.

Flash forward to 2025, and the program she broke out with, E! News, was canceled, potentially closing the door for good on any E! comeback. In a 2025 Instagram statement, Rancic called her old E! News gig her "dream job" and "the professional honor of a lifetime."