Yesterday we told you about the terrible joke Fashion Police personality Giuliana Rancic made about Disney Star Zendaya’s gorgeous dreadlocks at the Oscars this past weekend, and how Zendaya helpfully and gracefully pointed out to Rancic that her remarks buy into a history of judging African Americans for their hair and that she should feel super bad about them. Now Rancic is trying to make amends, and she…actually doesn’t do a terrible job?
“IÂ do understand that something I said last night did cross the line,” Rancic said on air yesterday, referring to her crack that Zendaya’s locs probably smelled like ‘Patchouli oil and weed.’ “I just want everyone to know that I didn’t intend to hurt anybody, but I’ve learned it is not my intent that matters, it’s the result. And the result is that people are offended, including Zendaya. And that is not okay.”
She finished her statement by apologizing both to Zendaya and anyone else who felt her comments were out of line . You can watch the whole thing here:
Obviously the only people who can truly accept her apology are those who were hurt by the statement in the first place, but from an outsider perspective I thought she did all right, especially when she vowed to learn from her mistake and be more aware of how clichés and stereotypes can be harmful in unexpected ways. Time will tell if she actually manages to accomplish that, of course—and given Fashion Police‘s reputation for being tastelessly offensive (which, let’s be honest, really started with Joan Rivers), it’s bound to be an uphill battle.
Speaking of which, many of our commenters and others on the Internet have pointed out that Rancic was not acting alone—Kelly Osbourne was also on the show that night and, some viewers claim, was the one who fed her the line about weed in the first place. But according to Osbourne, she did no such thing:
I WILL NOT BE DRAGED INTO THIS! The situation is being rectified like ADULTS by both parties. I hope you can leave it to them & do the same!
— Kelly Osbourne (@KellyOsbourne) February 24, 2015
you guys do realize that @Zendaya is my friend right?
— Kelly Osbourne (@KellyOsbourne) February 24, 2015
Im giving everyone involved 24 hours to make it right or the world will hear how I really feel. contactually Im not allowed to speak!
— Kelly Osbourne (@KellyOsbourne) February 24, 2015
I DID NOT MAKE THE WEED COMENT. I DO NOT CONDONE RACISM SO AS A RSULT OF THIS IM SEREIOULSY QUESTIONONIG STAYING ON THE SHOW!
— Kelly Osbourne (@KellyOsbourne) February 24, 2015
The camera wasn’t on Rancic or Osbourne when the comment was made, but to my untrained ears it sounded more like Rancic—and Osbourne does seems to be giving her kind of a judgmental look when it does come back to the two of them, so it’s possible she didn’t approve in the moment to begin with. Still, considering that Osbourne’s been on the show for years and never once threatened to leave over anything disparaging Joan Rivers might have said, it seems odd that she’s only choosing to take a stand now.
Either way, I think we can all agree that no matter what happens with Fashion Police from here on out, Zendaya is one awesome, eloquent Twitter user. In her response to Rancic’s apology, she calls for everyone to uncover their hidden prejudices and disavow hurtful actions in working out conflicts with one another:
pic.twitter.com/q1nV60KkTD — Zendaya (@Zendaya) February 25, 2015
Let’s hope we see a lot more of her soon, because this girl needs to be a household name already.
(via Uproxx)
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