Joan Rivers’ Most Outrageous Celebrity Interviews
Though Joan Rivers’ 50-plus year career took her everywhere from comedy club stages to QVC, her time as a talk show host is a category all its own. From her long-running stint guest-hosting The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, to The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers, which made her the first female late-night host, to In Bed with Joan, which was airing before her death on September 4, 2014, Rivers hosted seven talk shows, from late night to web series. No matter the format, Rivers was always herself — chatty, self-lacerating and unafraid of pushing the envelope.
20th Century Fox Film Corp./Courtesy: Everett Collection.
Though Rivers had a career-long reputation for being harsh on celebrities, most of her talk show interviews are perfectly traditional: Joan turns on the charm and asks fairly softball questions about a new movie or show. But to honor her legacy 10 years after her death, let’s instead remember the moments when Rivers disregarded the rules of what you can say on TV — and got bawdy while matching wits with her peers, insulted guests who irritated her, and, once, sat in some kitty litter (it will make more sense after you see the video).
Betty White, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, 1982
Rivers opened this interview by proclaiming “There are very few really funny ladies around, thank god,” but went on to extol the Mary Tyler Moore Show and Golden Girls star as one of them. As soon as White appeared, the two ripped into each other with wit and style: Betty White began, “I would like to say that you look lovely, but unfortunately … ” to which Rivers replied, “You probably can’t see that far anymore.” The two went on to discuss White’s short-lived game show Just Men!, while trading hilarious barbs about each other’s love lives, aging bodies and whether Joan should buy Betty some D batteries for Christmas.
Lucille Ball, The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers, 1986
Who could intimidate Joan Rivers? The only possible answer could be the original queen of comedy, Lucille Ball. During a 1986 appearance to promote her comeback sitcom Life with Lucy, Ball showed up with guns hilariously blazing, greeting Rivers with a “Now then, about your sex life.” After getting extremely vulnerable about her disappointment over how badly her show had been reviewed, Ball switched back into joke mode, asking of Rivers’ earring, “Are those real?”
“No matter where you point on me, the answer is no!” Rivers fired back, cracking the great Lucy herself up. Later on, Rivers asks “Do you ever wake up in the morning and think, maybe I’ve lost it?” to which Ball deadpans, “No.”
Kim Cattrall, The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers, 1987
An appearance to publicize the movie Mannequin turned into a lecture about the then-recently divorced Kim Cattrall’s birth control practices, after the actress revealed that she had never used any methods and had just been “very lucky.” Rivers, who was active in AIDS charity work, began admonishing her fairly earnestly: “Everyone must use a condom now! You must! Promise me! I beg you! … Think of that in a moment of passion, ‘I want to live and make more movies,’ and reach for the Trojan!”
GWAR, The Joan Rivers Show, 1990
In this clip from her daytime show, Rivers didn’t initially seem sure what to make of costumed shock-rockers GWAR. Which is not all that surprising — after all, the band members did show up in revealing pants, brag about their alleged supernatural powers, and gift Rivers with a rubber human arm. But after a few minutes, Rivers seemed to recognize them as fellow comedians, and began riffing. When singer Oderus Urungus claimed of the band, “We can blow on our thumbs and grow to 300 feet in the air,” Rivers replied “You probably have already done that on Sally Jesse.” By the interview’s end, Rivers was still occasionally trying to appear concerned about their wild appearance, but she was clearly having too much fun waving around the rubber arm they gave her.
Sean Young, The Joan Rivers Show, 1991
On some occasions, Joan wasn’t the biggest envelope-pusher on her show. In this infamous episode, actress Sean Young, who was rabidly pursuing the role of Catwoman in Batman Returns at the time, showed up in a DIY black vinyl mask and costume, and delivered a monologue in character aimed at director Tim Burton. Rivers, of course, couldn’t match it — who could? But she tried her darndest, whipping out a silver mask and a bag of kitty litter, and informing Young, “I tried the same thing!” Then, after trying to open the kitty litter for a full minute (and eventually getting an assist from Young), Rivers poured out the litter, and sat in it.
Brigitte Nielsen, The Joan Rivers Position, 2005
Brigitte Nielsen showed up to her interview with some unfinished business: 20 years prior, Rivers had made some comments about Nielsen’s then-husband, Sylvester Stallone, and the Danish model/actress had never forgiven her. Rivers responded to this accusation with an improvised monologue that ratcheted up in intensity, culminating in a classic Rivers celebrity takedown: “I know you’re a wonderful woman, I know you’re very forgiving, I know I’m a piece of s***, I know you’re fabulous, I know you’re warm, I know your four marriages were just silly mistakes, I know your drug problem doesn’t count, I know all that, I know you’ve got a new husband, who is in the audience and he’s about half your age—” before Nielsen began objecting. The two then began to bicker about whether Nielsen was ever on drugs.”This is great television!” Rivers cackled. “We were worried, ‘would you be a ****’, and you are!” Nielsen stormed off stage, grabbing her husband out of his seat in the audience, as Rivers called “Good, take him home, put him back in his crib!” after her. The moment is classic Rivers: quick, profane, and so funny, you don’t even notice how utterly fearless she is.
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March 2021
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