Too soon?
Joan Rivers isn’t backing down from her joke on Tuesday’s “Today” show that made light of the women held captive in a Cleveland home for a decade.
“What is it like living under the same roof as your daughter?” panelist Willie Geist asked the shock comic.
“Those women in the basement in Cleveland had more space,” Rivers cracked.
The “Today” show hosts recoiled in horror over the comment.
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On Wednesday, attorneys for Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus called upon the comedian to apologize.
However, her PR reps tell TheWrap she stands by her original joke — and subsequent comments to TMZ.
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“One of them has a book deal, neither are in a psych ward,” Rivers told TMZ. “They’re OK. I bet you within three years, one of them will be on ‘Dancing With the Stars.’”
Geist apologized to the survivors on Thursday.
“We regret her comment was made on our air deeply and truly,” Geist said. “I hope our reactions in real time show the way we felt about her attempted joke if you want to call it that. This is a live broadcast every day. We can’t control what our guests say. Joan has been a guest on ‘Today’ many times but we do not absolutely do not condone what she said this week. I hope it was clear at the time. We’ll make it clear again we didn’t find what she said funny and didn’t approve of it.”
Watch Rivers’ remarks below:
Watch Geist’s apology: