14 DAY TRIAL // It’s always a good idea to tease Joan Rivers and fish for controversial remarks if you’re a paparazzo because, with a little bit of luck, you just might make her say on camera the most outrageous thing of her career. Joan is 81 years old, so she’s had plenty of time to say outrageous stuff.
Well, she might have bested herself the other day – and it only took her under 30 seconds to do so, as the video below will confirm.
The comedienne was in New York on Monday to sign copies of her new book, “Diary of a Mad Diva,” when, on her way inside the venue, she was asked by one pap if she thought the time would ever come when America would have a gay male or female President.
Her reply was probably not what the paparazzo was expecting, judging from his reaction. “We already have it with Obama, so let's just calm down,” Joan said, managing to keep a straight face. Of course, with all the surgery she’s had and openly admitted to, it would be hard to tell if she was laughing.
“Oh, you know Michelle is a tranny,” she offered as counterargument to what she believed would be the pap’s next reply, that he was married to a woman (and happily so) and, as such, could not be gay. “A transgender. We all know. It's okay.”
With that, Joan walked inside, shutting the door on the furor that broke online and in the media when she dropped these two nuggets oh-so-casually to a paparazzo.
Did you forget that she has a new book out that she’s supposed to promote? Rivers is a seasoned entertainer and, with all her years in the industry, she knows better than anyone that nothing quite can boost interest in you as a person at any given time than saying or doing something scandalous does.
No amount of media attention through interviews and TV appearances can compare to all the good that some controversy can do in terms of PR.
Was it right or appropriate for her to say these things about the President and the First Lady? Of course not, but she’s using her Constitution-guaranteed freedom of speech to her own advantage. And now that we know that (i.e. that she’s stirring up trouble because she has a new book out), we know better than to feel in any way offended by her remarks.
There’s also this to consider: even if you do take offense and somehow get her to find out about, she will still not care and definitely not change / stop for your sake.
When this kind of stunts has been working for her for years, there is no reason to do things differently now that she’s in her old age – even though you really can’t tell by her face.