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Melissa Rivers honored her trailblazing, ‘fearless’ mother Joan Rivers during the THR Women in Entertainment Breakfast. “I want to thank everyone for inviting me here this morning, and before we start, I’d like to point out that it is definitely a little intimidating to be in a room with the most beautiful, successful women in Hollywood. But Angelina, I just want you to know I’m really very normal and accessible!”
Melissa continued, “My mother was fearless. And I don’t mean she didn’t have any fears, I mean that even though she was only 5’2, she stood tall and walked through it. And that’s what made her such a brilliant performer. She was willing to say what others were thinking and too frightened to admit. She made fun of herself first and foremost which gave her the right to joke about others. She never apologized for a joke, and no topic was taboo and she was fine with that. Truth be told, my mother never thought of herself as a woman working in a man’s world. She thought of herself as a comic that had to be funnier than anyone else…she just wanted to do her job and that was to make people laugh.”
Melissa said her mother “has been called everything from a legend, to a trailblazer, to a bitch. The bottom line is, she was really just my mother. If my mother were here this morning, she’d not only be grateful and proud, she would be beyond herself. She would be sitting at the table beaming, while very discreetly shoving croissants and silverware into her purse. On behalf of my mother—thank you so, so much. It’s an honor,” Melissa ended her speech to a thunderous applause.
Melissa was recently named one of three executors to her mother’s $150 million estate. She shares the task with Joan’s accountant, Michael Karlin and her interior decorator, Robert Higdon. ” Joan also included her grandson, assistants and several charities in her will.
Photo from PR Photos
