Tony Tripoli Returning to 'Fashion Police'

Wow, just saw this on Facebook. While I wouldn't exactly take credit for it, it's nice to see that someone else -- perhaps Melissa Rivers -- was thinking the same thing I was. Good luck, Tony, even if I think the show should have been buried with Joan!

Andy Cohen Tells It Like It T-I-S Regarding Kathy Griffin's 'Fashion Police' Exit

I guess all those years of dealing with batshit crazy Housewives has finally paid off, because Andy Cohen seems to be one of the few bold-faced names willing to tell it like it is regarding Kathy Griffin's "Fashion Police" debacle, something Anderson "We Rich and Famous People Stick Together -- Just Ask Barbara Walters" Cooper seems incapable of:

"I'm on Team Griffin," said Cooper who accused Cohen on "Watch What Happens Live" of loving to "stir the pot."  

Griffin had said the show was not the right fit for her brand of humor and said in interviews she didn't want to look at photos of celebrities and make fun of them. 

Cohen, who is best friends with Cooper, said it was "the pot calling the kettle black." "She's like: 'Oh, I don't want to make fun of anyone.' This show is about making fun of people and the reason everyone loves Kathy Griffin is she makes fun of people constantly." 

Griffin had said in a Twitter statement that she did not want to "contribute to a culture of unattainable perfectionism and intolerance towards difference." 

Cohen said of that: 

"I just think if it wasn't working, say it wasn't working but don't make it about body shaming. ... I think she's hilarious when she makes fun of Renee Zellweger and Oprah and my crossed eyes."

From HERE.

'Joan Wasn't Even Dead When Kathy Called E! Asking for Her Job'

The Real Reason Kathy Griffin Left Fashion Police

I know this topic isn't everyone's cup of tea, but Rich Juzwiak wrote an even more exhaustive -- and delicious -- piece on the topic for Gawker's entertainment blog, Defamer, in which he quotes some of my earlier reporting. If you're in the mood for dish, click HERE.

'Fashion' Faux Pas

Most of you know I'm a longtime (if critical) fan of Kathy Griffin. I stand behind my earlier reporting on her exit from "Fashion Police," but I also give her props for finally admitting (or at least hinting at) the truth:

“I don’t really feel it was my best work, I’ll be honest. I stand by my specials and my series. The lane that that show was in was so specific that they weren’t able to make the transition to the comedic lane that I work in. I just don’t think that it’s really what I do. I think Joan was the master of the one liners and the zingers.” 

“I probably shouldn’t have taken the gig. Melissa [Rivers] was the one who called me and said ‘You’re the only person that I feel my mom would have given her blessing to.’ For me, Fashion Police is not Joan’s legacy. As a 54-year-old female comic still in the game, what Joan did was so much bigger than that.” 

I'm not sure she should stand behind those last couple of specials, but her point is well-taken.

The Truth About Kathy Griffin's 'Fashion Police' Exit

Kathy Griffin: I QUIT 'FASHION POLICE' Because It's Too Mean 

The only thing worse than Joan Rivers' unnecessary death is having to agree with Piers Morgan about something -- but come on, people. 

In addition to the hypocrisy of it all, what Kathy also isn't copping to is the fact that her age-old "Mean Girls" vendetta against former best pal Tony Tripoli -- who was Rivers' right-hand man and the show's hilarious head writer -- led her to get him SHITCANNED the second she joined the fold. (You may recall Tripoli and Dennis Hensley as Griffin's gay BFFs and joke writers she used to hang out with at Chevys Fresh Mex in the Valley on season one of "My Life on the D-List.") With Tripoli ousted, Griffin then reportedly refused to put in any work on the show. While Rivers is said to have had about 20 jokes written and at the ready for every situation, Griffin apparently thought she could waltz in and "wing it" and she simply BOMBED. (It's not about being mean, it's about being funny.) Tired of looking like a hack on a high-profile weekly show and left with no one to bail her out -- a product of her own making -- she decided to walk. That's the real reason she's leaving, not because of some sudden desire to help "women, gay kids, people of color and anyone who feels underrepresented." In her own way, she was already doing that.

Fashion backward


WATCH: Tony Tripoli (and Dennis Hensley) helped write jokes for Kathy's Oscars red carpet gig on E! -- they were by far the funniest ones of the night -- and exactly the kind of "well-timed barbs" Kathy described in her resignation. (Skip to 16:00.)

Maybe if she hadn't been so petty, they could have made it work. Few people know Kathy's style better than Tripoli, so he might have been the perfect person to adapt the show to her voice. But why actually stop being mean when it's so much easier to pat yourself on the back for wanting to not be mean instead?

The fact that Griffin is now soliciting praise from other celebrities doesn't speak well of her motives, either. And that Chelsea Handler -- whom I adore but who makes fun of people's bodies all the time -- and Kelly Osbourne -- who has benefited from the show's success as much as anyone -- are two of the people voicing their support for her is borderline ridiculous.

UPDATE: TMZ is reporting a source says she was about to be fired and resigned to save face, which supports my "she was a disaster" hypothesis, not that she wants to be the new Perez Hilton as she claims.

UPDATE 2: Kathy discusses the fallout of her leaving and I commend her for saying THIS.

UPDATE 3: I think Andy Cohen just summed it up best, after saying it was the "pot calling the kettle black": 

 "I just think if it wasn't working, say it wasn't working but don't make it about body shaming. ... I think she's hilarious when she makes fun of Renee Zellweger and Oprah and my crossed eyes."

Kathy Griffin to Fill Joan Rivers' Stylish Shoes on 'Fashion Police'

Kathy Griffin -- whose only entree into celebrity tabloids used to be her inclusion in Us Weekly's worst dressed issue -- will reportedly succeed the late Joan Rivers as the head bitch on "Fashion Police." Do we approve? Let's hope she doesn't start trying to push that goddamn Mag-Let again. Read HERE.

UPDATE: E! denies that anything has been decided. Read HERE.