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Try not to offend Joan Rivers!
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American comedian Joan Rivers is still making headlines at the age of 81. The latest incident occurred while on her tour to promote her new book, Diary of a Mad Diva.
Rivers has no qualms about wearing fur. This is not appreciated by animal rights activists, some of whom made a scene at a Barnes and Noble bookstore in Times Square in Manhattan on July 1st. Protestors shouted insults at the author and complained about the fur that she was wearing.
Rivers, never one to take such abuse lying down, fought back yelling, “Oh shut up, you don’t know what the (expletive) you’re talking about. All the fur I’ve worn has been killed over the years and those furs that would have been lying in a cellar have gotten to go to the opera.”
She did, however, state that in general she agrees with the animal rights cause saying to the protestors as they were forced out of the store, “I agree with you, there are also other issues. I work very hard; I have four rescue animals, so we all do what we do in our own way.”
Many celebrities are lampooned in her new book and Rivers has even been threatened with a lawsuit by the actress Kristen Stewart. In response to what she feels is the hypersensitivity of celebrities who just can’t take a joke, the comedian told The Daily Beast, “I love when they say I’ve crossed a line. On the scale of 1 to Osama bin Laden, I didn’t blow up buildings. I made a joke about Sharon Stone. I think sometimes celebrities believe their own publicity—that they really were a pizza waitress rather then being “discovered” on their knees in front of some producer.
“No one says no to them because they’re so spoiled. We have people on Fashion Police who come with lists of demands longer than Schindler’s List. I can’t say who.”
Rivers also has an axe to grind with her former E cable network colleague Chelsea Handler who recently ended her late night talk show there. Apparently Rivers felt that Chandler should not have claimed to be the first woman in late night, forgetting that Rivers herself had a show in the 1980s.
She told The Huffington Post, “She came out saying things like, ‘I’m the first woman ever to do a late-night show.’ She did this one day, and I followed her on the dais and I said, ‘I guess everyone’s forgotten the [Johnny] Carson show.’ She never spoke to me again.”
Apparently Handler was also displeased to hear Rivers criticize her decision to give up her E talk show.
Rivers maintains that she tried to reconcile with Handler saying, “I went to her, I was at a party, I said, ‘Let’s take a picture together because it’ll make the papers.’ She walked away. I thought, ‘Oh, you stupid girl.’ It’s a small business, we should all be friends.”
Born Joan Alexandra Molinsky on June, 8 1933, Joan Rivers is possibly the most Iconic female American standup comedian of all time. She was born in Brooklyn to Russian Jewish immigrants and is a graduate of Columbia University in New York’s women’s school Barnard College.
She got her start in the 1950s co-starring with Barbra Streisand in a short run play. After that she began her standup career performing at renowned locations such as The Gaslight Café and The Bitter End. Her big break came when she first appeared on America’s most successful talk show of all time, The Tonight Show in the 1960s, then hosted by Jack Paar.
She is now best known for her program on the E entertainment cable channel, The Fashion Police, where, together with her daughter Melissa, Rivers critiques the attire of celebrities. Rivers is also the author of several bestselling books.
