Joan Rivers Had These Joke Rules for ‘Fashion Police’
Every now and then, Joan Rivers and her daughter, Melissa, felt bad about hurting celebrity feelings on Fashion Police, Melissa admitted to Steve Kmetko on the Still Here Hollywood podcast. But hey, it happens. Once, Joan had a Willie Nelson joke in her act, “and she heard it upset his daughter,” Melissa remembered. “It was out of the act the next day.”
See, Joan and Melissa weren’t always ruthless. And no matter how cruel the Fashion Police jokes may have seemed, “we did have rules,” Melissa insisted. For example? “You’re not going to go after someone who you know is going through a very hard time. You’re not.”
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While their rules weren’t etched into stone tablets, Melissa shared additional tenets of the mother/daughter team’s comedy code.
Don’t Get Personal
Sure, a diva’s shoes might be a crime against fashion, but “we never went after the person,” Melissa said. “We never said they’re a bad person. It was so shallow, you know what I mean? And that’s why it was great — it was like candy.”
Come From A Place of Love
Beneath all of Joan’s jokes and jabs was an honest delight about attending red carpet events, Melissa explained. “What everybody forgets is that my mom loved being a star. She loved fashion. She loved these actresses. She loved the events. So making a joke was no big deal,” she said. “It was coming from such a place of, ‘Isn’t this the best?’”
Don’t Make Fun of the Regular Joes
Maybe the most important rule of all: “We never went after what we called civilians. You know, that wasn’t fair,” she said. “You’re not going to go after civilians.”
As for celebrities? Consider it a badge of honor to be a punchline. “Sofia Coppola put it great once,” Rivers said. “She’s like, ‘Being interviewed by you and your mom on the red carpet is like a sign you’ve arrived.”
“As my mother always said about her act as well, you have to be so famous for someone to make a joke about you and have everyone get it,” Melissa explained. “Your career is in a pretty good spot. They have to have a working knowledge of you to understand why the joke is funny.”
Celebs need a sense of perspective when walking the red carpets, Rivers explained. “Some took themselves so seriously. Most laughed at it.”
Who cares if Joan and Melissa didn’t like one of your dresses when you got 20 of them for free during awards season? “It goes back to, you know, was it from Stripes?” said Melissa. “Lighten up, Francis.”