Kathy Griffin: ‘Fashion Police’ Host Plotzes After Giuliana Rancic And Kelly Osbourne Backlash From Zendaya Slam

Kathy Griffin, who replaced Joan Rivers, is plotzing over the Fashion Police problems stirred up by co-host Giuliana Rancic. The controversy, which resulted in Kelly Osbourne’s dramatic exit, resulted from Rancic’s slam of Zendaya’s dreadlocks, reported MSN.

Reflecting on Giuliana’s much-maligned commentary about Zendaya, Griffin now says that she would never have chosen that attempt at humor.

“I wouldn’t have said the joke in the first place,” said Kathy firmly. “Some dude wrote it for her.”

So just what did Rancic say that resulted in such a backlash? She inferred that Zendaya exuded an odor associated with marijuana users, reported Entertainment Tonight.

“I feel that she smells like patchouli oil… or weed,” commented Giuliana as her co-hosts laughed in the background.

Zendaya responded with her own slam at Rancic.

“To say that an 18 year old young woman with locs must smell of patchouli oil or ‘weed’ is not only a large stereotype but outrageously offensive….There is already a harsh criticism of African American hair in society without the help of ignorant people who choose to judge others based on the curl of their hair. My wearing my hair in locs on an Oscar red carpet was to showcase them in a positive light, to remind people of color that our hair is good enough.”

Twitter also blew up over Giuliana’s comments.

“Really Giuliana? So offensive. Standing for those who rock the braids and locks.”

“I thought #zendaya looked beautiful with her locs. Her response to the criticism was spot on.”

And the View hosts quickly joined the attack on Rancic, as the Inquisitr reported.

In particular, Whoopi Goldberg emphasized that she found nothing humorous about that statement, defending her own dreadlocks.

“I have had dreads for 40 years, and never have I smelled like patchouli. But it is a stereotype! It’s a stereotype that she put on.”

In addition, Whoopi accused Giuliana of propagating an association of dreadlocks with those who use marijuana.

“If I was in the military, I would have to cut my hair because they don’t like dreads. They associate dreads with something else, which many people have done,” noted Whoopi. “This is what Giuliana did, and that’s why she’s getting a lot of poop.”

So what should Rancic and the other co-hosts on Fashion Police do in the future? Kathy Griffin offered her advice in an interview with 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.”

[Photo By Jason Merritt/Getty Images]