JOAN RIVERS CALLS MICHELLE OBAMA "BLACKIE O": IS IT RACIST?
Rivers revealed the controversial joke on Thursday morning's Howard Stern Show:
"I said she's got such style. We used to have Jackie O, now we have Blackie O."
Rivers said she didn't want to answer to cries of racism in today's volatile political environment, so she cut the joke.
"Isn't that what's wrong with this country?" Stern asked her of her self-censorship.
Rivers responded with a quick and emphatic "yes".
The 77-year-old comedian, who is best known for her insult comedy, said she thought the joke was "adorable" and a "compliment" to Michelle Obama because of her classic fashion sense.
Howard Stern Show co-host Robin Quivers who is African-American asked: "Where's the compliment in that?"
Stern confirmed that Joan Rivers comedic sensibilities were indeed as racist as she had feared and then one-upped her:
"Joan's working on a new joke about the Obamas. Something about boiling missionaries--in the Lincoln bedroom."
She didn't say what she meant, but she meant what she said...