Joan's fury at 'racist' innuendo

Joan Rivers became embroiled in a vicious row with black commentator Darcus Howe on Radio 4 today.

The normally serene atmosphere of the Midweek chat show was shattered when Howe made a pointed aside that Rivers took to mean she was a racist.

The 72-year-old comic banged the table in rage and called Howe a ‘son of a bitch’ after he claimed  the word ‘black’ offended her.

‘Wait? No! What? Now just stop right there!’ said Rivers. Struggling to control her fury, she said: ‘Black does not offend me. How f-f- dare you! How dare you say that! Black offends me? You know nothing about me! You just sat down here... How dare you!

‘The use of the term “black” offends me? Where the hell are you coming from? You have got such a chip on your shoulder! I don't give a damn if you are black, white..."

Laughing, Mr Howe said: "I do."

Shaking with rage, Rivers  continued her indignant tirade: "I couldn’t care less.  It’s what the person is I don’t but don't you dare call me a racist. I don’t know you"

The argument began as Mr was described his marriage to a white woman.

He said: ‘I had to educate her what black people were. I had to educate her parents... That is the thing about relationships having to bear the sad burden of race. You hear your wife saying something, and you think, what are you? Why don't you go and join the BNP or something?"

Rivers interrupted: ‘I'm so bored with race... I think people should inter-marry, everyone should be part this and part that and part everything race shouldn't mean a damn thing.

As her hackles rose, she turned Howe’s personal background on him – including the fact he was estranged from his Caribbean son when he moved to England, a story told in a new documentary

‘The reality is you married a white woman and you have two mixed race children. Let them go forward,’ Rivers told Howe.

He objected: ‘I don't have two mixed children, I have two children.’

‘Children, yes! But you are making them choose,’

Host Libby Purves tried to calm matters, saying the comment was not personal, but Rivers  stormed: ‘Oh I think it is personal  when someone says “the term black offends Joan”.  I will not sit here and have that be said. How dare you say that to me

‘I think this is a language problem,’ Howe offered

Rivers said: ‘I don't. I think this is a problem in your stupid head. You had a child. You left him. Your wife said you weren't there. You married a woman, you deserted her, now your son comes back and he's got problems. Where were you when he was growing up, till he was eight years old?"

Purves tried again to intervene, saying: ‘ I have great sympathy with both sides but...’

Rivers interrupted: ‘Both sides? Then you're a racist!’ Then, as she started to calm down: ‘Er, er, er, how stupid... Please continue. But don't you dare call me that. Son of a bitch."

Purves tried to persuade Howe to say that he did not think Rivers was a racist, but justs aid: ‘I don’t know whether she’s a racist or not’ but eventually relented: ‘No, she's not a racist.’

Purves finally moved on to another guest, a plant photogapher, as  Rivers said: ‘I’m so upset.’

Listen to the programme here. The row starts about 20 minutes in.

Published: 19 Oct 2005