Kathy Griffin Explains Quitting 'Fashion Police': I Shouldn't Have Taken the Gig
There's a "leaky boat" at Fashion Police, according to the show's former host Kathy Griffin.
Just days after she announced that she's leaving the show, Griffin spoke to Howard Stern on his SiriusXM radio show about what really happened behind the scenes of her departure.
"I've never worked on a show with so many leaks," she told him.
The 54-year-old comedian made her debut as host back in January after the late Joan Rivers' daughter, and executive producer of the show, Melissa personally asked her to take on the role her mother made so fabulous.
"Melissa is the one who called and said you're the person that my mom would truly give her blessing to," she said.
WATCH: Inside Kathy Griffin's Decision to Quit Fashion Police
The comedian accepted the challenge, but looking back she now admitted, "I probably shouldn't have taken the gig."
And while Joan shined on Fashion Police with her biting wit, Griffin doesn't think she should be remembered by it. "To me Fashion Police is really not Joan's legacy," she said. "What Joan did was so much bigger than that -- The Tonight Show and writing for TheEd Sullivan Show and surviving all the ups and downs."
She further added that the show was good for her at the time, "It was cool that she did that at 81 years of age."
Once Griffin realized Fashion Police was not in-line with her brand of comedy, she reached out to someone younger than her to craft the perfect statement announcing her departure: 28-year-old Girls' creator Lena Dunham. Griffin explained that she called Dunham out of the blue. "I said would you mind helping me craft this statement? I want to say it the right way. She's such a good writer. She helped me tremendously," Griffin revealed.
"I do not want to use my comedy to contribute to a culture of unattainable perfectionism and intolerance toward difference," the statement read. "I want to help women, gay kids, people of color and anyone who feels underrepresented to have a voice and a LAUGH!...After 7 episodes of Fashion Police, I discovered that my style does not fit with the creative direction of the show & now it's time to move on."
As for the email, made public by Buzzfeed, that Griffin sent to her friends asking them to voice their support, her reasoning behind that was simple. "I don't feel like there's a lot of support out there for female comics," she told Stern.
She will continue her tour comedy tour around the country with tickets on sale through October 9.
Do you agree about female comics not getting the same amount of support? Let us know using the hashtag #ETnow.
Check out the video below to see more on why Kathy Griffin quit Fashion Police.
Follow Rosalyn on Twitter: @RosalynOsh
Related Gallery
