There’s a new sheriff in town! After weeks of rumors, E! confirmed on Wednesday, June 17, that Melissa Rivers had been tapped as the newest co-host of Fashion Police, alongside returning hosts Giuliana Rancic and Brad Goreski.
The Book of Joan author — who will also continue in her role as executive producer on the series — is set to join Rancic and Goreski when the show returns from its hiatus in August. According to a press release about the news, each episode will also feature two rotating celebrity guests.
“As an executive producer since the beginning, Melissa helped shape Fashion Police into an iconic TV series that couples fashion with comedy,” Jeff Olde, executive VP of programming and development for E!, said of Rivers, 47, whose late mother, the iconic comedienne Joan Rivers, hosted the show until her death last September.
“We are pleased to now also feature Melissa in front of the Fashion Police cameras, as she joins returning panelists Giuliana and Brad,” Olde continued. “And with the added flavor of rotating panelists, the show will deliver fresh, different, and unpredictable fashion reviews with each new episode.”
Melissa will fill one of the spots left vacant by departing co-hosts Kelly Osbourne and Kathy Griffin, who exited the snarky style series earlier this year amid controversy surrounding some comments made by Rancic in regards to Zendaya Coleman‘s Oscars hair. Osbourne, 30, quit in February, while Griffin, 54, bowed out in March.
“I am a freedom-loving female and gay rights activist who loves to find the funny in all people, attitudes, beliefs, and appearances, but only when the context permits intelligent humor,” Griffin explained when she left. “My brand of humor, while unrepentant and unafraid, is all about CONTEXT…Listen, I am no saint…But I do not want to use my comedy to contribute to a culture of unattainable perfectionism and intolerance towards difference.”
After her exit, E! announced the series would be taken off the schedule for a few months. But it wasn’t long before rumors about Melissa’s new role surfaced online.
Now that the rumors have been confirmed, Melissa is ready to get to work. “I’m very excited to be given the opportunity to continue to work with my E! and Fashion Police family,” she said in a statement on Wednesday.
