While E! remains silent on its role in Giulana Rancic’s “Fashion Police” controversy over a joke many considered racist, host Kathy Griffin has set the record straight.
When the Chicago Sun Times asked if the joke would’ve went over better if she did it, Griffin answered, “Probably not. But I wouldn’t have said the joke in the first place. Some dude wrote it for her.”
She then went on to dispense some advice to her embattled co-host.
“Don’t have anyone write you jokes or even suggest jokes for you on “Fashion Police,” Griffin offered. “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.”
As TheWrap exclusively reported, the whole joke debacle was a perfect storm of things gone wrong. Not only was the joke written for Rancic, but part of the setup to the joke was edited out in the broadcast. Furthermore, Rancic was unable to finish the joke as she was interrupted by Griffin.
Rancic apologized profusely for the incident and hasn’t made excuses for herself. But, individuals close to her told TheWrap that they still hope E! will cop to its role in the debacle.
In the midst of the storm, co-host Kelly Osbourne spoke out against Rancic and threatened to leave the show. Ultimately, she did. In a statement to press on Feb. 27, E! said Osbourne was leaving “to pursue other opportunities.”
Griffin said she’s unsure whether the controversy around Rancic and Coleman contributed to Osbourne’s exit, but she did see signs that the Rock and Roll daughter wasn’t happy at the show after Joan Rivers‘ death.
Earlier this week, Osbourne appeared on mother Sharon Osbourne‘s CBS daytime show, “The Talk,” and addressed her exit by simply saying, “I want to try new things.”
“Sometimes she seemed very upset at the merely seven tapings of ‘Fashion Police’ we did together,” Griffin said.