Giuliana Rancic: ‘Only A Matter Of Time Before [Fashion Police] Fell Apart’

Giuliana Rancic has spoken out for the first time about the state of “Fashion Police,” saying the show was doomed from the start of the season.

“[The show] without Joan [Rivers, who died in September] was difficult from episode one,” she told People. “There were just all sorts of problems. I really believe it was only a matter of time before that specific show with that cast and that format fell apart.”

Two of her co-hosts – Kelly Osbourne and Kathy Griffin – recently exited the show.

WATCH: Carson Kressley: I’d Be Perfect For ‘Fashion Police’!

Kelly was first to depart the panel after Giuliana made controversial comments regarding Zendaya Coleman’s dreadlocks on the post-Oscars episode. Kathy – who replaced Joan after her death – soon followed suit by resigning her position on the show.

Zendaya, who initially posted on Instagram that Giuliana’s comments were “ignorant slurs” and “outrageously offensive,” later accepted the “Fashion Police” host’s apology –which Giuliana delivered both on air and via social media.

WATCH: Kathy Griffin Tells Howard Stern & ‘The View’ Why She Quit ‘Fashion Police’

“Giuliana, I appreciate your apology and I’m glad it was a learning experience for you and for the network. I hope that others negatively affected by her words can also find it in their hearts to accept her apology as well,” Zendaya wrote on Instagram.

In her interview with People, Giuliana again addressed the backlash — including death threats — she faced from these remarks.

“I read her statement and I was shocked,” she told the magazine. “I made [the joke] as a reference to the hippie culture. It was a bohemian-chic reference, not about race, nor would it ever be. It was horrifying to have my name in a headline with words I have never been associated with in my life.”

She further explained that the terminology in question was “taken out of context” due to how the show was edited, and had her commentary aired in its entirety, it wouldn’t have been misconstrued.

WATCH: Kathy Griffin’s ‘Fashion Police’ Fallout

“On set, I made peace signs and I said boho twice. It was edited. And my words were taken out of context. If I thought this joke could be interpreted another way, I never would have done it. I felt horrible,” she said. “There were about 50 sets of eyeballs on set that day. And not one person thought that it had the undertones that it ended up having once it aired because they heard it in context.”

Giuliana – who did not write the joke – also told the mag that the segment was completed in one take, not multiple.

E! announced last month that “Fashion Police” will be on hiatus until September.

Paige Feigenbaum

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