Melissa Rivers honored her mother, Joan Rivers, on a special memorial episode of E!’s Fashion Police Friday night.

Melissa Rivers Hosts Fashion Police Joan Rivers Special

Melissa hosted the 90-minute special, making her first television appearance since the death of Joan Rivers. The special included behind-the-scenes clips of Rivers working on the show. Melissa joined Fashion Police co-hosts Kelly Osbourne, Giuliana Rancic and George Kotsiopoulos to exchange memories and pay tribute to Rivers.

“For the next 90-minutes, we’re going to do what my mom loved to do best: laugh,” Melissa said at the top of the show.

The special also included a few video-montages of comedians and celebrities paying tribute to Rivers. “I know that, as a comedian, myself and so many women that came after her will always and forever be in her debt,” said Aisha Tyler.

“She would say to me often, ‘I love your shirt.’ And I would think she’s being serious, and then she’d say, ‘Does it come in men’s?’” Ryan Seacrest recalled.

Osbourne was particularly emotional when remembering Rivers, sharing that her favorite on-screen memories occured when Rivers started dyeing her hair like Osbourne.

As the co-hosts spoke of Rivers, Melissa revealed that she received a handwritten note of condolences from President Obama, a frequent target of Joan River’s biting humor. “I received a handwritten note, saying, ‘Not only did she make us laugh, she made us think.’ And, I think that’s one of the things people now are realizing: it wasn’t just the funny. She made us think," Melissa said.

Fashion Police Will Continue Without Joan Rivers

E! announced on Friday that Fashion Police would be returning in 2015, despite the death of its star. In their statement, the network said that Melissa Rivers, who worked as executive producer on the show, had given them her blessing to continue.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Joan Rivers and, for the last two weeks, have turned our attention to honoring her memory on all of our platforms. We have also thought long and hard about what Joan would have wanted as it pertains to the future of Fashion Police. We decided, with Melissa Rivers’ blessing, that Joan would have wanted the franchise to continue. Fashion Police will return in 2015 commencing with Golden Globes coverage on Monday, January 12. No further details will be announced at this time,” reads the statement.

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.