In 2010, Fashion Police began to grace our TV screens, airing on E!. For those unfamiliar with the show, it airs every weeks, with a panel critiquing the fashion of celebrities seen that week. The original panel included Giuliana Rancic, Kelly Osbourne, George Kotsiopolous, and, everyone’s favorite, Joan Rivers. The show quickly became known for the outrageous comments made by Joan Rivers (but really, who is surprised?) and the easygoing relationship between the co-stars. The show saw much success, quickly becoming a fan favorite.
Yet in September 2014 tragedy struck when Joan Rivers passed away from complications related to a throat procedure. The world was shocked and saddened, with celebrities around the world releasing statements on what a joy Joan was to the world. Soon after, the question was raised: what will happen to Fashion Police? Joan was no doubt the center of the show, and it was her comments that catapulted its popularity. E! decided to go on without Joan, going on a hiatus until January 2015 to find a new host. They took needed time to revamp the show.
E! hired Kathy Griffin as the new host, with the first show after Joan’s death being aired after the 2015 Golden Globe Awards. All seemed to be going well on the show, even though it was different without Joan, until the show airing after the 2015 Oscars. During this show, Giuliana Rancic made comment’s about actress/singer Zendaya’s dreadlocks, stating “I feel like she smells like patchouli oil. Or weed.” After these comments were made, Zendaya fired back with her own statement in defense about the dreads. Even though it was settled, with Rancic issuing an apology and Zendaya publicly accepting it, others weren’t so happy. Kelly Osbourne, a friend of Zendaya’s, threatened on Twitter to quit if the situation wasn’t fixed. Even though Rancic issued the apology, Osbourne still ended up quitting, saying that she was moving on to other projects. Not long after that, Kathy Griffin also exited the show, later stating in an interview that she should have never taken the job on the show because it wasn’t a good fit. After these events, E! announced that the show would be on hiatus until September 2015 in order to revamp the show.
So, with only Giuliana Rancic left as the sole original cast member, and only two members total (the other being Brad Goreski), everyone is left wondering what happened? The show was such a success before Rivers’ death, and now it can’t seem to find its footing. So, what is the problem? Some may say that the timing was the problem. After Kathy Griffin left and stated that she wasn’t the right fit, could E! have settled on a new host too early? Rivers left big shoes to fill, meaning that E! needs to find the perfect fit. Also, the comments made on the show related to Zendaya are most likely contributing to the problem. Rivers had a way of saying whatever she wanted without causing as much controversy as Rancic did, so maybe the writers need to take a step back and evaluate just how each hosts comes across. Whatever the problem is, E! is smart in taking the time to fix it, and with any luck, Fashion Police will come back in September bigger and better than ever.