Joan Rivers "FOX & Friends" Cancellation Controversy

Was Joan Rivers banned from "FOX & Friends" for bashing Sarah Palin? Or did "FOX & Friends" make an honest mistake in accidentally axing Joan Rivers from the show?

Joan Rivers recently said that she believes that Sarah Palin is partially to blame for the Arizona shootings, calling Sarah Palin "stupid" and "a threat". Of course it didn't take long for Sarah Palin's name to be brought up after the Arizona shootings, thanks to her crosshairs map featuring Gabrielle Giffords as one target. However, since the shooting, it's more widely accepted that Jared Lee Loughner was just a crazed individual not acting because of the rhetoric of Sarah Palin or any other politic figure (although it's become evident Sarah Palin herself doesn't believe this; more on that later).

So Joan Rivers is definitely now in the minority with her belief that Sarah Palin played some part in influencing Jared Lee Loughner to go on his killing spree (believing that Sarah Palin is "stupid" might be another story), but is this the reason her appearance was cut from "FOX & Friends"?

Well, according to TMZ, Joan Rivers' rep stated that a producer from FOX News called to say that her comments were the reason that her "Joan and Melissa: Joan Knows Best?" plug was axed from an upcoming "FOX & Friends" show. However, a "FOX and Friends" rep contends that the show was simply overbooked and her appearance "mistakenly" cancelled. This does sound just a tad bit suspicious...

But it seems a bit silly to cut Joan Rivers after making such a controversial remark about Sarah Palin. She could have gotten grilled for it on "FOX and Friends", and Sarah Palin supporters would have eaten it right up. Then again, it can be pretty hard to grill a comedian sometimes, so the "FOX and Friends" connections might have been afraid of losing a heated Sarah Palin battle in front of so many of her supporters (and of course FOX News has Sarah Palin's back; she is an employee of theirs, after all, so why would they help one of her haters by letting them plug a show?).

Plus it's a good time for FOX News to try and protect Sarah Palin. After the "blood libel" accusations she made in her video response to the Arizona shootings, her approval rating plummeted to an all-time low at 38 percent.

But that hasn't stopped Sarah Palin from continuing to run her mouth. She felt the need to respond to the critical response to her "blood libel" remark (somehow this tragic event has become all about her), and she just couldn't resist stating that shooter Jared Lee Loughner was "apolitical or perhaps left-leaning". In short, she complained about the "lamestream" media trying to politicize the shooting before turning right around and doing the same thing herself.

So forget Joan Rivers appearing on "FOX & Friends"; it would be much more fun to see Sarah Palin and Joan Rivers go at it on television, even if it's just debating celebrity clothing on Joan Rivers' "Fashion Police" show. Neither of these TV personalities are the types that sit down and shut up and it's their big mouths that have made them both big stars, so they should definitely settle this one with a war of words.

SOURCES:
http://www.tmz.com/2011/01/19/joan-rivers-banned-from-fox-and-friends-arizona-shooting-congresswoman-gabrielle-giffordds/
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47772.html
http://www.thewrap.com/television/column-post/hannity-palin-defends-blood-libel-remark-says-suspect-apolitical-or-perhaps-e