14 DAY TRIAL // Giuliana Rancic has a new book to promote, which means she’s finally willing to talk about things she would not until now, like her weight problem and the racist scandal she caused in February, when she mocked Zendaya Coleman for her dreadlocks at the Oscars 2015.
In a new interview with People magazine, she describes the kind of abuse she became a victim of in the aftermath, and what a hurtful experience it was for her. She also says that she knew Fashion Police couldn’t possibly last for much longer after Joan Rivers’ death.
Death threats and bad vibes
In the first post-Oscars Fashion Police show, Rancic said that she didn’t necessarily like how Zendaya had styled her hair in dreadlocks, because it wasn’t really the place for such a ‘do. Then, she added that it made her think she smelled of “patchouli oil and weed.”
The comment, Rancic confirms, was edited: she had actually said that Zendaya was rocking a “boho” vibe that, though out of place, was pretty amazing.
She also confirms that no one on set told her at the time that there was something wrong with the joke, which had been written for her; she didn’t come up with it on the spot.
To her surprise, Zendaya blasted her on social media, calling her an ignorant and a racist. As if that weren’t bad enough, soon enough she started getting death threats: photos of barrels of guns with messages that promised her her entire family would be dead soon.
However, she’s learned her lesson: she didn’t appreciate the kind of reactions she got, but she understands that something can be offensive even when you don’t mean that way. Rancic wants to put the incident behind her, if possible.
Fashion Police had to take a break, she knew it
Shortly after the Zendaya comments, Kelly Osbourne left or was fired from the show. Kathy Griffin was next. With Rancic in hiding and clearly not wanted back by all those she offended, E! decided it would be best to put the show on a hiatus, while producers scrambled to come up with a different formula.
Clearly, pretending that nothing had changed even though Joan Rivers had died wasn’t working anymore.
Giuliana knew it would come to this, she says.
“[The show] without Joan [Rivers, who died in September] was difficult from episode one. There were just all sorts of problems. I really believe it was only a matter of time before that specific show with that cast and that format fell apart,” she explains.
She doesn’t say if she has any idea of the direction Fashion Police will take when it comes back.