Giuliana Rancic has insisted that, despite speculation otherwise, her 2015 departure from “E! News” was a drama-free affair. Staying on E! as host of “Live from the Red Carpet” and co-host of “Fashion Police,” Rancic told People, “It was 100 percent my decision to leave,” adding at the time, “I need to take a new venture and new challenge.” She elaborated, “I took on a challenge 14 years ago. I was a young reporter and ‘E! News’ was my dream job. It’s been an incredible journey.” Interestingly, she revealed that she informed E! of her desire to leave “E! News” three years ago, but the network “wanted me to stay.” Calling it “three years in the making,” Rancic said the decision will allow her to “grow as a person, as a businesswoman, as a host.”
Despite attempts to move on from its backlash, Rancic’s February 2015 Zendaya comments haunted her throughout that year. The TV personality addressed the scandal head-on during an interview with Today to promote her memoir, “Going Off Script,” in April 2015. “I find racism reprehensible. I don’t tolerate it at all,” Rancic stated emphatically, blaming bad editing for botching an otherwise harmless joke. “It was truly a joke about the hippie culture,” she said, insisting that the show edited out her usage of the word “bohemian” and gestures, like peace signs, that she made. Having seen the aired clip, Rancic said, “I see why people took offense.”
