E!'s Fashion Police Takes an Extended Break to Allow It To "Evolve into Its next Chapter"
E! on Tuesday announced that Fashion Police will be taking a break from its scheduled showing until September. In its statement to the press, the network wrote: "E!'s comedy series Fashion Police is going on hiatus and will return in September. We look forward to taking this opportunity to refresh the show before the next awards season. Our talented co-hosts Giuliana Rancic and Brad Goreski, along with Executive Producer Melissa Rivers, will continue their roles as we evolve the show into its next chapter for the legions of Fashion Police fans around the world."
The show came under heat earlier this month following Kathy Griffin's announcement she was leaving the show after filming only seven episodes, saying via her Twitter page: "When I chose to step into the shoes of my beloved friend Joan Rivers at Fashion Police, I was thrilled to continue her legacy as a woman being brash and eccentric on television.... I thought that I could bring my brand of humor to Fashion Police so beautiful people in beautiful dresses could be teased when appropriate.... I do not want to use my comedy to contribute to a culture of unattainable perfectionism and intolerance towards difference. I want to help women, gay kids, people of color, and anyone who feels underrepresented to have a voice and a LAUGH..... I discovered that my style does not fit with the creative direction of the show and now it's time to move on....."
Just weeks before Griffin made her announcement, co-host and long-time regular Kelly Osbourne also exited the show following a controversy surrounding Fashion Police's post-event coverage of the Academy Awards. In that episode, panelist Giuliana Rancic remarked that Disney star Zendaya, with her dreadlocked hair, looked like "she smells like patchouli oil or weed." The comment elicited much negative reaction in the social media, including from Zendaya herself. Rancic publicly apologized. Osbourne while defending her co-host who was only mouthing a scripted line, also agreed with the prevailing sentiment that the comments were racist and she admitted they have caused her to question why she should continue staying on the show.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the three remaining episodes scheduled to shoot this spring will be scrapped, giving the Fashion Police team time to find new cast and reboot. The new plan, said the entertainment news site, is to return the show in the fall with six or seven episodes tied to major events, including the Emmys. As gathered from NBCUniversal Lifestyle Networks Group president Frances Berwick, "There's a lot that's frivolous about the whole Oscar, Emmy, Golden Globe parade, and then at the heart of it, there's some great, creative work. E! is not a network that takes itself seriously. To the extent that this has all gotten very intense and serious - it's meant to be fun. When it stops being fun or if we think that we're offending or crossing a line, absolutely, that's the time to re-evaluate and that's what we're doing, frankly, with things like the mani cam."