Melissa Rivers is definitely going to keep her mother’s legacy alive. The daughter of the late Joan Rivers will definitely co-host Fashion Police , and Rivers will join Giuliana Rancic and Brad Goreski. Kelly Osbourne had already announced that she would be stepping down from the show following controversy over a comment made by Rancic last year.
The show is designed to make fun of some styles and clothes of other celebrities, but Rancic may have gone too far. She said that Zendaya’s dreadlocks smelled like patchouli oil or weed, and critics said that she was racially insensitive. While Rancic apologized, it was not enough for Osbourne, who decided it was time to leave the show. Kathy Griffin also left, stating that she wanted to avoid the “body shaming” that the show promotes.
Variety reports that Kathy had looked forward to continuing Joan’s legacy on the show. She wanted to tease celebrities when it was appropriate, but her type of comedy is “all about context.” Kathy tweeted when leaving to say that she never wanted to contribute to the intolerance towards difference in pop culture today. She wants to support everyone, and help those who feels “underrepresented to have a voice and a laugh.”
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) March 13, 2015
The first episode with Melissa Rivers will air on August 31 , which coincides with the MTV Video Music Awards, TIME reports. There was a small hiatus while comedian Joan Rivers went through surgery, which led to her falling into a coma and her subsequent death. Once Griffin left, there was another hiatus.
Melissa has been part of the show as a producer since it started. She worked with her mother to create the red carpet coverage for network E!, and has shaped Fashion Police into the program that it is today. Executive VP of programming and development for E!, Jeff Olde, said that he was please that Rivers will now be in front of the cameras. There will also be rotating panelists to make sure the content remains fresh and unique between episodes.
Rivers says that she is excited to continue to work on the show, as Fashion Police has become her family. She will remain as an executive producer for the show, helping to continue the legacy that she and her mother started. This is not the first time she has appeared in front of cameras. Melissa Rivers starred in Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best? with her mother for four seasons.
[Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images]
