Giuliana Rancic, one of the hosts of the popular E! show Fashion Police, found herself in some hot water last week over comments she made about actress Zendaya Coleman and her dreadlocks, but a source tells People Magazine that the full segment didn’t even air.
Rancic said during the post-Oscars segment that Zendaya’s hairstyle weighed down her look and made her look “too boho”, adding that she felt Zendaya “smelled like patchouli oil or weed”. The comments garnered outrage on the web and a lengthy statement from Zendaya on Twitter, who called out Rancic for making racist statements. Rancic later apologized, saying she never meant to imply anything negative about the actress based on her race, but the controversy has lingered on the web, especially after Kelly Osbourne announced that she was quitting the show due to the incident. Now, a source says that Rancic’s segment was actually longer than the one that aired, and gives her statements more context.
According to People, Rancic said that while she admired Zendaya’s style, she thought the hair was “really heavy – it overwhelms her, and it’s just too boho. Zendaya is more high-fashion. The hair to me on her is making her a little more boho. Like I feel like she smells like patchouli oil. Or weed.”
— Zendaya (@Zendaya) February 24, 2015
Dear @Zendaya, I'm sorry I offended you and others. I was referring to a bohemian chic look. Had NOTHING to do with race and NEVER would!!!
— Giuliana Rancic (@GiulianaRancic) February 24, 2015
— Zendaya (@Zendaya) February 25, 2015
Sources say that there were several jokes about hippies and the Grateful Dead originally planned for the segment which didn’t make it to air, and because Rancic’s comments were reportedly chopped up, they took on a different meaning. Rancic is said to have moved on from the incident after apologizing to Zendaya, who accepted with another lengthy tweet.
“Giuliana accepts responsibility for what happened. She was educated about the sensitivities here and doesn’t make excuses for it,” a source said.