I've been thinking a lot about Kathy Griffin leaving Fashion Police, and I think the phrase that fits the situation best is, "Well that escalated quickly." Griffin had only been working on the show as a replacement for the late Joan Rivers for seven episodes when Giuliana Rancic made that now-infamous comment about Zendaya's dreadlocks. Within days, Griffin had spoken out, distancing herself from Rancic and her racially-tinged statement, and it wasn't long before she quit the show entirely. And now, just as quickly, Griffin is talking about her time on the program, and expressing regret that she was on it at all. Damn, we're not wasting any time! Blink and you'll miss it! Here's what Griffin shared about her decision to leave Fashion Police on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show:
I don’t really feel it was my best work, I’ll be honest. I stand by my specials and my series. The lane that that show was in was so specific that they weren’t able to make the transition to the comedic lane that I work in. I just don’t think that it’s really what I do. I think Joan was the master of the one liners and the zingers.
Fair enough, it just wasn't her cup of tea. But she takes it a step further, saying she never should have accepted the job in the first place:
I probably shouldn’t have taken the gig, [but] Melissa [Rivers] was the one who called me and said ‘You’re the only person that I feel my mom would have given her blessing to.’ For me, Fashion Police is not Joan’s legacy. As a 54-year-old female comic still in the game, what Joan did was so much bigger than that.
Hear hear! I really appreciate Griffin for taking a moment to remind us that both she and Rivers were more than snarking at women's dresses on E! Here's her describing how she felt at the time, deciding whether or not to leave the show:
I'm going through this thing with Fashion Police where I want to be funny, but I’d almost rather comment on the whole evening. Does it have to be just about the dresses? These women are already so perfect.
It really, honestly, just sounds like it wasn't Griffin's vibe at all, and that she'll be much better for doing her own thing. But she's not quite done yet. Just in case you weren't sold on Fashion Police being kind of a shady place to work, she says it's also just about as leaky as a sieve.
I’ve never worked on a show with so many leaks. It seems like ‘sources say’ were constantly calling. TMZ and Radar Online were constantly calling. It’s a leaky boat over there. I got a little paranoid.
And who can blame you? Griffin is a real loss to Fashion Police, but, based on everything she said in her interview, it sounds like parting ways with the show is the best thing that could have happened to her right now.
