It’s hard to believe that Giuliana Rancic could say something inflammatory. The E! red carpet host is usually the person chiding the other hosts to be less blunt about the looks the stars choose to rock. However, this week she found herself in hot water after saying Disney star Zendaya’s dreadlocks made her look like she smelled like “patchouli” on the Oscars red carpet. Zendaya later fired back about the insensitivity of criticizing African hair, and this week Rancic made an official on-air apology to the star. You can check it out, below.
During the video, Rancic apologizes for the comment she made on the Oscars-oriented episode of Fashion Police. She notes that Fashion Police is meant to be a show that pokes fun at celebrities without ill intentions. She does say she understands how her comments were offensive, not just to Zendaya, but to many people who were watching the broadcast. She also says the result of her actions mattered greatly and weighed heavily on her mind following her original comment and Zendaya’s subsequent post.
Here’s the comment Zendaya made on Twitter that spawned the apology,
The E! broadcast isn’t the first time that Giuliana Rancic apologized, though. The TV personality also took to social media to address Zendaya’s comments in a tweet. Although the video is definitely more thoughtful and specific than a tweet.
Obviously, Rancic’s comments were insensitive, but part of the problem is that the usually middle-of-the-road Fashion Police star really went out a little more on a limb with her comments this time around. In fact, all of the people involved with Fashion Police were cheekier this time around, thanks to the loss of the always-tetchy Joan Rivers. That’s not to say Rancic’s choice of words should be excused, but hopefully she won’t attempt to go full Joan Rivers in upcoming Fashion Police broadcasts. She's far more in her comfort zone when she's poking fun in a fairly kind way, not delivering mean comments with the potential to more than momentarily offend.
