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Melissa Rivers is returning to the red carpet.
Fashion expert and author Rivers — who rose to fame reporting outside awards-shows with her late mother, the comedian Joan Rivers — will be joining Variety co-president
and co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh and CNN correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister at the two brands’ Emmys pre-show broadcast. On “CNN & Variety Red Carpet Live: TV’s Biggest Night,” streaming live beginning at 5 p.m. ET on Monday, Sept. 14 at CNN.com/Watch and on the CNN app for CNN’s streaming subscribers, Rivers will provide interviews and commentary.
Her presence promises to be both a nostalgic look back and a turning of the page, as Rivers insists she wants to strike a tone that’s been absent for a while: As a duo, the Riverses broadcast for E! and for the TV Guide Channel before, in 2007, their association with the red-carpet ended. In 2011, the elder Rivers declared “We’ve done that. It’s not fun anymore.” Melissa agrees, and is hoping to bring a spirit of joie de vivre to the proceedings. The pair continued to host E!’s “Fashion Police,” which Melissa continued after her mother’s 2014 death until the show’s final episode in 2017.
A few days before her hosting gig, Rivers spoke to Variety about the spirit of “fun” she feels has been missing from the carpet, what she thinks of Jean Smart’s performance as a groundbreaking female comedian and what Joan Rivers would say about celebrity style in the age of Ozempic.
You’re back on the red carpet after a long absence. What does it mean to get to come back?
Well, first of all, it’s my first time back in 20 years. It’s crazy. I’m going to give you the timeline: I was originally supposed to join in via Zoom, and do some color — some fun. Then I got a call either Saturday or Sunday [Labor Day] weekend, and they said, “Would you be interested in being on the carpet?” Without really thinking about it, I said “Sure.”
And then 10 minutes later, I was like, “Oh my God!” Suddenly, it dawned on me, I haven’t stood on a red carpet for coverage in 20 years. It became very overwhelming, because I realized I had so much to do.
What does your preparation look like?
Luckily, I’ve seen most of the shows. CNN gave me a huge briefing book, and I’m going through the storylines, the actors, the different categories, finding interesting facts. The other day, they’re like, “And here are the presenters!” and I’m like — Oh, God, they have to put more in my brain.
How I used to do it came back: By storyline, category, and then individuals. Matthew Rhys has won for [“The Americans”], and this is his first time for “Widow’s Bay.” If I end up talking to him, I’m like, “Is there one that you’re more emotionally attached to?” You’ve won, and here you are with your hat in the ring. And with you and Keri Russell — who gets more mirror time?
Right — they’re prepping together.
Do you do your fittings at the same time? For my wedding, trying to get my husband, my son, and his two sons coordinated for a fitting, it might as well have been D-Day.
But I’ve been really outspoken about this: The fun has been gone. The lightness has been gone. It’s not going to be the same as me and my mom; it’s never going to be that again. But there’s a whole new lane for just being fun and lightening up.
I’m going to be the shallow end of the pool. Don’t come to me if you’re going to want to make statements. I want to know who you’re wearing, and fun stuff. I want to know, was there ever a performance you really thought you were going to get nominated for, and you didn’t?
It felt as if in some point since you and your late mom left the red carpet, the tone of coverage did get more serious. I’m curious what you made of that as an observer.
Yeah, it got very, very serious. The one with #MeToo and all the women wore black [the 2018 Golden Globes, at which all female attendees wore black garments in an organized protest], that was great, because there was a theme. Everybody was wearing black, and you got to see actual personalities come through, because of the decisions that the women made. That would have been the greatest “Fashion Police” ever. But that’s really where it turned very serious and statement-oriented.
The world has become so much more serious in the last 20 years. The social reckonings, the political landscape: The world is going to hell in a handbag. But let’s call it what it is. It’s a bunch of beautiful, talented, successful people, walking into a building to see if they won something. The consequence is, Does someone like your dress?
And you’ll be the judge of that!
Of course I will. One of the things people used to love was — as my mom used to say, when you sat on your couch at home, you didn’t say everybody looked wonderful. We were just giving voice to that. We tried to be the viewer. That’s why I’m saying: If you want to make a political statement, go to another position. Don’t stop. Because that is not my vibe. Let’s bring fun back.
Are there any attendees whose style you tend to really like?
Keri Russell always looks amazing. I’m going through, in my head, who the women are. Jean Smart always looks appropriate and yet glamorous. Who else do we have?
Hannah Einbinder. Zendaya.
Oh, forget it. Zendaya — okay, we’re all running for number two. It’s almost like, “Why bother?”
Speaking of Jean Smart, though, I’m curious if her performance on “Hacks” ever called your mom to mind. Many people think Deborah Vance is based in part on Joan Rivers.
Yes, of course. And my mother would be so happy that if there was anyone playing someone lightly based on her, that it was Jean Smart. She would be so happy. Not only is Jean so talented, but she is tall and elegant and blonde. My mother always joked that Cate Blanchett would play her in a movie. She got Jean Smart, which would thrill her to death.
In the fifth season, an Emmy nominee this year, Deborah and her daughter D.J. have a real breakthrough in their relationship. Did you recognize this as true to life, or see yourself in Kaitlin Olson’s performance as D.J.?
I actually haven’t watched it yet.
I’ll sum it up: We leave the relationship in a really positive place overall.
It’s really hard for me to watch these things. I can’t speak intelligently about it because I haven’t watched enough of the show for a multitude of reasons. When someone snuck me the pilot, I was not thrilled by how I was portrayed. But I do appreciate that there was an evolution of the relationship. Do I think where my character started was accurate? No. Do I love the fact that they portrayed evolution — which is a true theme between mothers and daughters? I love that.
Speaking of mothers and daughters, have you ever re-watched the perennially viral clip of your mom and you walking out of “The Celebrity Apprentice” together after you were fired?
Oh, God, no! I’m not sure if that was one of my greatest moments or one of my worst moments. Hell, no!
I wonder what your mom would have made of the current landscape, where stars are more open about the work they’ve had done and Ozempic has redefined the red carpet.
I think she would say, “Thank God — everybody’s caught up! And admitting it!” Back in the day, we would be looking behind people’s ears for fresh scars. Now, everyone’s like, “Look what I’ve done!”
It’s clear you missed the red carpet, even as the prep is a bit stressful. What was it like walking away from awards-show reporting?
We chose to walk away because… It’s like anything — you show up and you kind of don’t care. That was when my mom and I had the conversation. We both came to it separately that it was time to walk away.
I was never planning on this. If you had asked me two weeks ago, “Would I ever go back?,” I would say no. And I still can’t believe I just said “Sure” without really thinking about it. I hate making this more serious than it is — I have a goal, which is to make it fun again. I’m going on my own personal campaign to bring fun back.
