DEATH: Controversial comedienne Joan Rivers passes away at age 81, leaving the world polarized.
by Antonio Serros, Diversions Editor
The Watergate and Monica Lewinsky scandals may be just as old as her (although thanks to the miracle of plastic surgery we wouldn’t know), but when it comes to controversy, neither captured America’s attention quite like Joan Rivers. Throughout her life, Rivers was perpetually followed by the train of her extravagant fur coat and an unwavering entourage of criticism. Now, even in death, her legend of controversy lives on.
A month prior to her death, TMZ aired a video in which Rivers said that the people of Palestine were getting what they deserved, since they themselves voted for Hamas. To this, enraged social justice bloggers and normal people alike responded with a similar idea: karma. Karma, they believed, had finally come full circle to claim Rivers’ life. After years of blatantly inappropriate comedy spewed from her delicately Botoxed mouth, it seemed to be a comedic justice to her social injustice.
As if her acidic humor wasn’t enough for her choleric critics, in an episode of E! Network’s Fashion Police, Rivers commented on Heidi Klum’s red carpet look, joking, ” […] the last time a German looked this hot was when they were pushing Jews into the ovens.”
Being the daughter of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Rivers later explained in an interview with CNN that “[t]his is the way I remind people about the Holocaust. I do it through humor.”
Adjectives like “unconventional” and “problematic” nearly understate the complications with Rivers’ humor. Nonetheless, Rivers accomplished her goal, and in the process stretched the boundaries of comedy about as far as her plastic surgeon stretched her face.
However, few share the same adoration for the (perhaps first) female comedienne’s methods, such as women like Kathy Griffin and Roseanne Bar. Test Rivers’ humor on a litmus test, and you’d discover a distinct pH of 1, yet Rivers always sustained a deeper, more neutral intent behind her harsh humor.
It’s widely known that Rivers was never shy of pointing her manicured fingers, the only indicators of her age, at America’s untouchable cultural icons and politics alike. The brashness, however, was all a part of an act. As the comedienne explained, “An actress is my career and I play a comedian.”
Keeping to her word, Joan, upon each performance would take the stage, leaving behind Joan Alexandra Molinsky the person, and welcoming out the persona, Joan Rivers. With a twisted sense of comedic relief to the tragedy that was her haunting self-consciousness, Rivers would then proceed to list off a seemingly infinite catalog of plastic surgeries. When her monologue of self-deprecation was complete, Rivers endowed upon herself the power to make fun of life. Through raspy vocal chords, Rivers would shout, “Oh, grow up!” teaching America the cliché and obvious—don’t take life so seriously, because Rivers certainly never did.
As an art form, Rivers pursued comedy to depths an 81-year-old woman should never be found at. Venturing into realms untouched by the Jeff Dunhams and Ellen Degenereses of comedy, either out of fear of their problematic nature or because of a general lack of artistic innovation, Rivers was truly dauntless.
“I succeeded by saying what everyone else is thinking,” Rivers stated in an interview. Her success reverberated in the ice cold hearts and perverted minds of young comedians aspiring to continue her legacy of fearless innovation. And to those who now celebrate the death of a cultural icon and comedic legend, I’m sure Rivers would respond with nothing short of an upturned middle finger.