Eight months after her mom Joan Rivers’ tragic death at age 81, Melissa Rivers is still coming to terms with the circumstances surrounding the comedienne’s passing. The TV producer, 47, has filed a malpractice suit against Yorkville Endoscopy, and spoke out in a new Today show interview about Joan’s final moments on Monday, May 4.
Melissa recalled her final phone conversation with her mom the night before she went in for a minor throat surgery to treat acid reflux.
“It was a very normal conversation,” Rivers told Matt Lauer. “All she said was, ‘Ugh, I hate having to do this, getting old sucks.’”
The next morning, Aug. 29, Melissa was woken up by an early phone call from her mom’s assistant, saying the Fashion Police host was no longer breathing.
The furious daughter went on to criticize the hospital treating her mother, citing rumors that the doctors had taken selfies in the operating room while Joan was lying unconscious.
“In my opinion, it was 100 percent preventable,” Melissa said of her mother’s death. And in terms of what could have been done: “How about paying attention to the vital signs? How about having a properly equipped crash cart?”
Melissa also talks about her mom’s groundbreaking life and career in her new book, The Book of Joan: Tales of Mirth, Mischief, and Manipulation.
