For well over a decade, Giuliana Rancic was everywhere to be seen on E!. From hosting red carpets to E! News, she was one of the network's top faces, but nowadays, you don't see or hear much from this celebrity correspondent. What happened? Here are a few clues.
Rancic found herself at the center of an intense media scandal after her appearance on Fashion Police's recap of the 2015 Academy Awards. During the show, she quipped that model-actress Zendaya must have smelled like "patchouli oil" or "weed" because she wore dreadlocks. Some of the biggest backlash came from Zendaya herself, who released a blistering statement to her Instagram shortly after the episode aired. "To say that an 18-year-old young woman with locs must smell of patchouli oil or 'weed' is not only a large stereotype but outrageously offensive," Zendaya wrote, without mentioning Rancic by name. "I don't usually feel the need to respond to negative things but certain remarks cannot go unchecked."
As the scandal continued to balloon, Rancic apologized for making the joke—first on Twitter, then again on E! News. "I just want everyone to know that I didn't intend to hurt anybody, but I have learned it is not my intent that matters—it's the result," she said. "And the result is that people are offended, including Zendaya, and that is not OK. Therefore, I want to say to Zendaya and anyone else out that I have hurt that I am so, so sincerely sorry." She continued, "This really has been a learning experience for me—I've learned a lot today—and this incident has taught me to be a lot more aware of cliches and stereotypes, how much damage they can do. And that I am responsible, as we all are, to not perpetuate them further." Zendaya accepted her apology.
While this was all going down, the producers of Fashion Police found themselves dealing with another crisis when Rancic's co-host, Kelly Osbourne, threatened to quit the show over Rancic's comments about Zendaya. "I do not condone racism," Osbourne tweeted. "So as a [result] of this I'm [seriously questioning] staying on the show!" She followed those remarks with a separate tweet, adding, "I'm giving everyone involved 24 hours to make it right or the world will hear how I really feel. Contactually [sic] Im [sic] not allowed to speak!"
Osbourne's departure from the show was announced a few days later in a statement from E!, which said she was leaving to "pursue other opportunities," but even Osbourne's exit did little to quiet the conflict, as evident by an August 2015 interview Osbourne gave to The Wrap. "I will never admit to liking Giuliana because I don't," she said. "I don't think she's a good person and I think she's a liar." Yikes.
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