Joan Rivers ‘Occupies’ Costco
Image by Getty Images
In yet another Occupy iteration, this week Joan Rivers staged a protest at a Burbank Costco, complete with a megaphone and an entourage of assistants.
“Costco, who sells condoms by the pallet,” she shouted, “who sells Paula Deen books and — which is not good for their customers’ health — they decided to ban my book. This is a First Amendment violation.”
Apparently the wholesale giant found swear words on the back cover of her latest book, “I Hate Everyone…Starting With Me,” too offensive to peddle. So Rivers stormed the store, chained herself to a shopping cart and shouted about the injustice.
“This is a store that sells 300 rolls of toilet paper at the same time, and I say any customer that buys 300 rolls of toilet paper deserves a funny book to sit on the toilet and read,” she said.
In true Rivers style, she wore huge dark sunglasses and chunky jewelry. She sold copies of the book and signed autographs for fans. And in a long interview with KTLA news, the 79-year-old comedienne said, “People should have the right to have the literature they want. This is the beginning of Nazi Germany.”
She was eventually escorted from the building by police.
Later that day she tweeted, but not about her protest — weighing in on the QVC network and stretch bangle bracelets instead.
Publicity stunt aside, “I Hate Everyone” is doing quite well. It’s Rivers’ 11th book and has spent six weeks on The New York Times best seller list.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
