# Joan Rivers has gotten bitter **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 15, 2011, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427 "2011-02-15T06:53:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/21 "2011-02-15T17:51:29Z")
OK, I’ll admit that I used to like her back in the early days, too. She didn’t used to be mean – just catty. She was a freakin’ regular guest host for Carson, and she was pretty good at it. It wasn’t surprising that she branched out into another talk show – she wasn’t exactly a nobody. But she should’ve realized that Carson and the NBC people wouldn’t take kindly to that sort of competition. She came around on a tour promoting her film **Rabbit Test** – in which she directed Billy Crystal (and co-wrote the screenplay). It wasn’t the greatest flick, but I think she showed good ability in it. Years later, _60 Minutes_ followed her around on a “typical” day, showing her preparing for her Tonight show guest-hosting spot. It showed her starting out with a joke idea and adapting it and eventually using it. Although that had to be at least partially a put-up, I think it probably showed the way she worked. Not all the jokes were bitchy put-downs. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/22 "2011-02-15T18:09:33Z")
Oh, Oh, Oh … Can We talk? Her body is falling so fast that her gynecologist has to wear a hard hat. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveroptic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiveroptic/32/8257_2.png) [@Fiveroptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveroptic)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/23 "2011-02-15T20:55:11Z")
She had a stand-up album that came out in the early eighties. On the back was a portrait of Charles and Diana with the rest of the royal family in an official wedding shot – that included Joan Rivers wearing a tacky red wedding outfit and carrying a blender with a bow on the top. That, my friends, was hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/24 "2011-02-15T21:18:33Z")
I liked her until she appeared on the Apprentice. I saw what a huge “B” she is in real life. She made Omarosa look like a cuddly kitten. Rivers is a shark in high heels. Way beyond competitive, she’s backstabbing and vicious. Now I change the channel when she invades my tv. I can’t stomach seeing her now. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/25 "2011-02-15T21:31:04Z")
What I hate about her is how thin-skinned she is. She made a fat living for decades trashing other people but she gets tearful and maudlin on interviews about how much people hurt her in their comments when her husband killed himself or when the critics savaged the (god awful and masturbatory) TV movie she and Melissa made ABOUT her husband killing himself or, in the documentary, the scene where she’s whining about how many jokes on her age and facelifts she’s going to have to sit through and how bad they are on her self esteem in the Comedy Central Roast special that she voluntarily agreed to do because of the money. Pardon the cliche, but if you’re gonna dish it out learn to take it. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/26 "2011-02-15T22:06:57Z")
Yeah, she’s big on playing the victim card. For years she’s been whinging about how Johnny Carson hung up on her when she tried to call him (after starting her own competing show and trying to hire away his executive producer, this after he gave her her start and subsequently made her his permanent guest host in his absence). Just a year or so ago she was whinging on Larry King’s show that Carson never spoke to her again after she started her own show. And of course she never mentions having stabbed Carson in the back in the process, preferring to stab him in the back still by trying to make it look like he snubbed her merely for starting her own show and trying to get ahead. She’s an utterly dispicable bitch, but those of us who detest her can take comfort in the fact that she has to be her and we don’t. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/27 "2011-02-15T22:13:13Z")
In other news, Elton John is gay, and Donald Trump has a big ego. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/28 "2011-02-15T22:26:03Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I liked her until she appeared on the Apprentice. I saw what a huge “B” she is in real life. She made Omarosa look like a cuddly kitten. Rivers is a shark in high heels. Way beyond competitive, she’s backstabbing and vicious. > > Now I change the channel when she invades my tv. I can’t stomach seeing her now. Not a good choice to base your opinion of someone from the footage of a reality tv show that’s edited to ooze drama. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/29 "2011-02-15T22:55:12Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > The most terrifying thing in the documentary is the beginning when her face is shown without makeup. She said in a promotional interview she’d rather have done a nude scene with makeup than that scene- in addition to the liver spots and lines that most people have when they’re her age (118 I think) add lots of visible incision lines and scars from the surgeries. Is there somewhere online to see this? Video or photos? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/30 "2011-02-15T23:11:55Z")
> [@Fiveroptic](#): > > She had a stand-up album that came out in the early eighties. On the back was a portrait of Charles and Diana with the rest of the royal family in an official wedding shot – that included Joan Rivers wearing a tacky red wedding outfit and carrying a blender with a bow on the top. > > That, my friends, was hilarious. Really? I have an excellent imagination, I can easily see the image in my mind’s eye, and I see nothing about it that is funny. I know your mileage may vary, but to me Joan and her male counterpart Michael Musto have never, _ever_ said one funny thing between them. What they say has the structure of humor and could be mistaken for humor if you didn’t quite hear what was said, from a TV in another room, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/31 "2011-02-15T23:30:03Z")
I thought she was bitchily unfunny back in the 70’s. And I tried hard to like her, because she was considered so ‘edgy’ back then. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/32 "2011-02-16T00:20:06Z")
I remember when she was first on TV on Carson (I think). She was nervous, but amusing, even funny at times. She got old really fast. Fast, as in Phyllis Diller fast. A one-trick pony, if you will. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/33 "2011-02-16T12:19:04Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > Not a good choice to base your opinion of someone from the footage of a reality tv show that’s edited to ooze drama. Did you\* see\* the show? There’s edited drama and there’s real undeniable cuntitude. The Rivers gals reeked of the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/34 "2011-02-16T16:13:31Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > Is there somewhere online to see this? Video or photos? [Here you go.](http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kz3sqtSRr11qa0nczo1_500.jpg) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/35 "2011-02-16T16:24:43Z")
The vibe I get from Joan is that she’s (1) insecure and (2) terrified of being broke again. I’ve seen bits and pieces of her new show on Bravo, and I like that she has longtime good friends and that she treats them well. They aren’t her friends just because she’s Joan Rivers. I’ve also watched Fashion Police, and what strikes me about that show is that her co-hosts don’t kowtow to her – they don’t treat her like a diva and that makes me think that she doesn’t act like a diva. I kinda like her. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/36 "2011-02-17T01:26:10Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] I’ve also watched Fashion Police, and what strikes me about that show is that her co-hosts don’t kowtow to her – they don’t treat her like a diva and that makes me think that she doesn’t act like a diva. I kinda like her. [/QUOTE] So, if Joan Rivers and the Straight Dopers were drowning in the Hudson and you could only choose one or the other…😃 I agree on her fear of being broke again which is what makes her **LAVISH** lifestyle all the more baffling. She doesn’t live well, she lives like a Saudi prince. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/37 "2011-02-17T02:11:14Z")
I’m not a huge fan (actually, not a fan at all, she annoys me), but the fact that she sends the children of her long time employees through college speaks well of her. Very well of her. Insecure or not, I think this a better use of her money than making her daughter wealthy when she kicks off. ---
**Author:** ![Heyoka13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Heyoka13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heyoka13)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/38 "2011-02-17T02:26:06Z")
Just my opinion, but I always thought Carson and Rivers had a back room secret deal to instigate a (pretend) feud, thinking the controversy would be financially advantageous for both of them. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/39 "2011-02-17T02:45:08Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > I’m not a huge fan (actually, not a fan at all, she annoys me), but the fact that she sends the children of her long time employees through college speaks well of her. Very well of her. Insecure or not, I think this a better use of her money than making her daughter wealthy when she kicks off. She is politically liberal for the most part, but totally opposed to inheritance taxes, wanting to abolish what she calls the “death tax”. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427/40 "2011-02-17T04:23:52Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I liked her until she appeared on the Apprentice. I saw what a huge “B” she is in real life. She made Omarosa look like a cuddly kitten. Rivers is a shark in high heels. Way beyond competitive, she’s backstabbing and vicious. > Now I change the channel when she invades my tv. I can’t stomach seeing her now. My thoughts exactly. Appearing on Celebrity Apprentice was the worse thing Joan Rivers did, because we now know what JOan really is. I also will never watch Celebrity Apprentice ever again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-rivers-has-gotten-bitter/571427.md?page=3)