Ex-Fashion Police writers have revealed that many industry insiders believed the demise of the popular E ! series was inevitable after the death of the show 's former host Joan Rivers , because its current stars ca n't unapologetically get away with the comedian 's no holds barred brand of humor . While many blame the show 's recent hiatus - and the abrupt departures of Kathy Griffin and Kelly Osbourne - on the scandal that erupted after Giuliana Rancic joked that Zendaya Coleman 's dreadlocks at the Oscars made her look like she smelled of 'patchouli oil ' and 'weed ' , others say Fashion Police was always destined to fail without the legendary comedian . 'Joan is n't there to make it all work , ' Todd Masterson , a former Fashion Police writer told Cosmopolitan.com during a phone conversation . 'She had decades of saying the most offensive things under her belt . Now the pressure was on everyone else to make provocative jokes . ' Original star : Joan Rivers sat poised in her chair during a taping of Fashion Police . Old friends : Tony Tripoli , the former head writer of Fashion Police , can be seen showing the late Joan Rivers something on his phone during a break on set in 2014 . Industry insiders : Tony ( L ) and former Fashion Police writer Todd Masterson ( R ) weighed in on the future of the show after it was announced that the series will be on hiatus until September . Mr Masterson , who left the series in 2013 to go on strike with a majority of the show 's writers , said that he remembers Giuliana would often read from teleprompters , noting that the controversial comment was mostly likely reviewed by multiple people and passed through video editing before it found its way on air . Tony Tripoli , former head writer of Fashion Police , also came to Giuliana 's defense . 'Giuliana was probably exhausted after spending 12 hours on the red carpet and getting very little sleep , ' he said . ' I do n't think she meant to sound racist or cause anyone harm . ' The 40-year-old red carpet interviewer inevitably apologized for the ill-advised and racially loaded joke - which is something both writers insist Joan would never have done . ‘ That was her act , ’ Mr Masterson said of Joan . ' I think she knew an apology was a floodgate . ' Happier times : Brad Goreski , Kelly Osbourne , Kathy Griffin and Giuliana Rancic only filmed seven episodes of Fashion Police together . Controversial comment : Giuliana came under fire last month after she said that Zendaya Coleman 's dreadlocks at the Oscars made her look like she smelled of 'patchouli oil ' and 'weed ' during an episode of the show . Truly offended : Zendaya , who can be seen posing at this year 's Oscars , slammed Giuliana for her 'outrageously offensive ' comment . She later accepted Giuliana 's apology . Kelly Osbourne , who is friends with Zendaya , was the first to quit the show last month after five years with show . Then Kathy announced her exit last week on Twitter after hosting only seven episodes of the show . While she maintained that making fun of women 's bodies was against what she believed in as a feminist , TMZ claimed that producers were discussing firing her from the show . On Tuesday , E ! announced that the show would be on hiatus until September , cancelling three episodes in the meantime . 'We look forward to taking this opportunity to refresh the show before the next awards season , ' the network said in a statement . 'Our talented co-hosts Giuliana Rancic and Brad Goreski , along with executive producer Melissa Rivers , will continue their roles as we evolve the show into its next chapter for the legions of fans around the world . ' Mr Tripoli , who is currently working on and upcoming E ! talk show about plastic surgery called Good Work , told Cosmopolitan.com : 'Joan would absolutely want the show to continue . '
Tony Tripoli and Kathy Griffin worked on the series with the legendary comedian . Kelly Osbourne and Todd Masterson both announced their departures from the series in recent weeks . The show is on hiatus until September .