Fashion Police just isn’t Fashion Police without Joan Rivers. So to honor the late comedienne, the troubled E! show returned from hiatus on Monday, Aug. 31 with a brand-new segment — “What Would Joan Say?”
The show was taken off the air back in March after scandal and controversy following Giuliana Rancic‘s offensive remarks about Zendaya‘s hair at the Oscars ceremony. The furor that followed ultimately resulted in Kathy Griffin and Kelly Osbourne‘s departure from the show, but on Monday night, the snarky style program returned to our screens, debuting its new format for an MTV VMAs special.
Taking the reins, Melissa Rivers (who had always executive produced the show while her mom was the main commentator) is now center stage, joining fellow panelists Rancic and Brad Goreski. The main presenters were joined by NeNe Leakes and Margaret Cho for the latest episode, which focused on the fashion hurrahs and mishaps at Sunday night’s awards show.
Taking a moment to honor Joan (who died nearly a year ago, on Sept. 4, 2014), Melissa revealed that her hilariously sharp-tongued mother remained with her every day. “There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t see something and think, ‘What would my mom say about this?’,” she said, before introducing the new show format. “Let’s find out in our newest segment, ‘What Would Joan Say?'”
First up to get the Joan Rivers treatment via her daughter and her daughter’s co-presenters? Poor old Justin Bieber, who debuted a new (and distinctly Kate Gosselin-esque) hairdo on the VMAs red carpet.
“One of my mom’s favorite targets!” Joan said, gleefully, inviting her guests to let rip!
Then followed a load of Joan Rivers impersonations, with Leakes proclaiming he “forgot his brush,” Rancic rehashing the Gosselin joke and Cho expressing concern about the 21-year-old singer’s choice to wear animal skin. “I just hope that jacket is pleather,” she proclaimed. “Because if even one animal died for this stupid look, it’s a tragedy,” she revealed.
Watch the video above to see Melissa’s insights into her mom’s thought processes, and tell Us: Do you think this new segment is a fitting tribute to Joan?
