14 DAY TRIAL // Soon after Joan Rivers passed away in hospital due to a botched endoscopy procedure on her vocal chords, people began talking about the future of her television show, Fashion Police. The late comedienne left some pretty big shoes to be filled, since she was one of the most important bits of the puzzle that made up the success of the show.
It wasn't long until reports began emerging that Joan's place was being eyed by none other than Kathy Griffin, her protégé and longtime pal. Griffin denied the claims at the time, saying that she would never think to replace her idol so soon after her death.
E! is looking to fill the position, made a shortlist, Kathy is number one on the list
Today, there are new reports surfacing from the production team of Fashion Police. Last week, E! announced that they were going to continue the show with Melissa Rivers' blessing, but without replacing Joan with anybody else.
The Hollywood Reporter has a story in which they claim that Kathy is now the frontrunner for the open position since a “shortlist of replacements has been drawn up, with female and male comedians in the mix.” The report added that “one in serious contention is Kathy Griffin.”
The same report warns that “no formal conversations have been held with anyone,” meaning that not even Kathy herself knows about the possible auditions and subsequent role with the show.
Griffin denies that she has been contacted by the network, isn't interested
But Kathy has been keen to dispel the rumors from the start. On her Twitter account she claimed that “Just 2 clarify. I have not contacted E! & they have not contacted me.” That doesn't mean that she will not be contacted in the future, just that the network has not done so for the moment.
From the sound of things, E! is determined to find a replacement, so even if Kathy turns down the position, they will eventually get someone else to appear on the show.
The first time the rumors appeared, Kathy slammed them as “disgusting.” “It’s not true… I thought I’d heard it all, but that [rumor] hurts because it’s as far from the truth as you can get,” Griffin said at the time, adding, “I would never take Joan’s job.”
What is known for certain is that the show is going to be back in January, starting with the Golden Globes, from which they will be reporting, only this time without Joan Rivers on the panel, but with Melissa Rivers on the production team since she's been involved with the show for a while now.