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Thursday, January 7, 2010

No One Keeps Joan Rivers Off an Airplane

Posted by on Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 11:59 AM

As discussed on Tuesday, Joan Rivers barely survived being given extra security scrutiny as she was trying to fly back to the United States from her recent vacation in Costa Rica. But wait, there's more! Watch as Rivers, safely back on American soil, furiously tells Larry King about "premenstrual" Costa Rican airport workers ("How dare they," she seethes), her terror of being "totally alone" in a lovely foreign country, and her "heart attack." After which she shouts down a caller who tells her she should be ashamed of her entitled, crazy tourist self.

 

Comments (25) RSS

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1
Still trying to figure out why the gender of the gate agent is relevant.
Posted by arson on January 7, 2010 at 12:02 PM
givesgoodemail 2
She's a threat to good taste, certainly.
(I remember when she made fun of Gloria Vanderbilt's numerous facelifts. What goes around, comes around, they say.)
Posted by givesgoodemail http://www.givesgoodemail.com on January 7, 2010 at 12:05 PM
John M 3
She is ridiculous and I love it. She was before my generation but I caught her stand up special on Bravo awhile back and felt like I had really missed out on her.

Besides, how can you not love someone that decorates their house like this that would make a filthy sailor blush whens he opens her mouth?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_61djkGwfEZo/Si…
Posted by John M on January 7, 2010 at 12:09 PM
Cato the Younger Younger 4
I love me some Joan Rivers: as long as she isn't batshit crazy.
Posted by Cato the Younger Younger on January 7, 2010 at 12:09 PM
Rob in Baltimore 5
Enough is enough! I have had it with this motherfucking Joan Rivers on this motherfucking plane!
Posted by Rob in Baltimore http://www.wishbookweb.com/ on January 7, 2010 at 12:10 PM
6
I can't stand Joan Rivers. Maybe, every now and then on the stage as a comedian. But, off the stage? She's crazy, and puts a point on why we shouldn't pay any attention to celebrities outside the reason they are famous.
Posted by Timothy on January 7, 2010 at 12:16 PM
Fnarf 7
Joan's a national treasure. I don't care how many facelifts or idiot daughters she's had.
Posted by Fnarf http://www.facebook.com/fnarf on January 7, 2010 at 12:17 PM
8
Fnarf...let's keep her locked in a museum then.
Posted by Timothy on January 7, 2010 at 12:23 PM
Sargon Bighorn 9
Where on EARTH were her eyes looking?
Posted by Sargon Bighorn on January 7, 2010 at 12:29 PM
boxofbirds 10
I would rather try to take out an al qaeda agent than try to go up against Joan Rivers.
Posted by boxofbirds on January 7, 2010 at 12:29 PM
heywhatsit!? 11
Oh you poor thing. And I do mean "thing".
Posted by heywhatsit!? on January 7, 2010 at 12:41 PM
meowmeowkitty 12
She came off as a spoiled old lady, completely ungrateful for her great fortune in life.
Posted by meowmeowkitty on January 7, 2010 at 12:45 PM
Foggen 13
Her ability to get away with this crap is why she won the Celebrity Apprentice. She'll make up whatever sob story she wants and people just say "aw, it's Joan Rivers".
Posted by Foggen on January 7, 2010 at 12:51 PM
Andy_Squirrel 14
@5 you would've gotten a FTW if you quoted the overdubbed version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4t6zNZ-b…
Posted by Andy_Squirrel on January 7, 2010 at 12:52 PM
veo_ 15
I'm posting this agian because by your comments I don't think this has ever happened to you. It has happened to me though, so I can see exactly where joan is coming from and she's being unjustly labeled a primadonna. What happened to her caused her DAYS of inconvienence in a foriegn country. I wonder if this happend to any of you if you'd be so quick to judge her anger.

Having dealt with something similar in Peru, making it through 5 security check points and *4* hours of waiting in lines in a hot overcroweded airport, I ran into trouble with security right as I was boarding the plane. It was a dumb technicality that I didn't even know was a problem, but the final boarding people's rules were totally different then everybody else's rules up to that point. Had I been told what the problem was by any of the past 15 airport/airline/immigration/security agents I had previously been cleared through, I would've had enough time to talk to a ticket agent to fix things and make my flight. instead I had to make immediate and expensive arrangements to spend another night in the hell hole that is Lima which meant another 2 hour cab ride, and then spend another 4 hours going through all that security agian the next day. The really galling thing is that the boarding agent who made the call REFUSED to help me or look at my other documentation or call a supervisor or an airline rep or anything at all except just glare at me like I'm about to blow up a bomb.. They just totally shut down and classify you as 'enemy' It was absolutely maddening.

So, I can COMPLETELY EMPATHIZE with Joan in this. It is frustrating and infuriating when a peon steadfastly REFUSES to do anything to help you. They make a call based on a rule, which is fine, but even a slight bit of checking would've resolved the situation but instead they just dig in with a dull gleam in their eye and watch you squirm.

I can understand why they do this, and it's more a fault of the airlines for not having a 'questionable boarder' response team or person to arbitrate situations like this rather then putting all the onus on the poor boarding agent in isolation. If they see something not right, they should not let you on the plane, that's their job, but they should also have the resources or RESOURCEFULNESS themselves to get a second opinion, or at least not treat the passenger like an enemy combatant.
More...
Posted by veo_ on January 7, 2010 at 12:59 PM
care bear 16
@15 Aeropuerto Juan Santa Maria is neither hot nor overcrowded and it takes less time to get through security there than it does in any U.S. airport. And since ticos are the happiest, and I think most friendly, people on earth, I doubt they didn't try to help her.
Posted by care bear on January 7, 2010 at 1:08 PM
17
Nothing, I repeat, nothing, could make me voluntarily watch a video of Joan Rivers. Are you mad?
Posted by Christy O on January 7, 2010 at 1:34 PM
Rhett Oracle 18
'Old Woman Rivers' provides us PEOPLE plebes with good Zsa copy that brightens up our otherwise dreary, sunless lives - or would you rather watch Ballmer the Huckster? I can only imagine the high dudgeon of several sloggers should they be thrown off a flight because some functionary has never seen a passport with an AKA before.
Posted by Rhett Oracle on January 7, 2010 at 1:50 PM
COMTE 19
@9:

Hard to say. I think the problem is her eyes are now looking out through what used to be her nostrils.
Posted by COMTE http://www.chriscomte.com on January 7, 2010 at 1:53 PM
J-Haxx 20
I do not believe that she showed her ticket to a half a dozen people but never even bothered to look at it herself to notice the name was wrong. Anyone here ever NOT check their ticket between the time they get it and the time that they board?
Posted by J-Haxx http://defyaugury.livejournal.com on January 7, 2010 at 1:58 PM
buck futter 21
I wish she would fucking die already
Posted by buck futter on January 7, 2010 at 2:36 PM
22
List Of Things I Am Not Going To Watch:

1. This video
Posted by matt on January 7, 2010 at 3:34 PM
23
2. A video of a walrus fellating himself.
Posted by matt on January 7, 2010 at 4:01 PM
24
"I went through four checkpoints, which I was happy to do. Take off your shoes, take off everything..."

wait, what?
Posted by leave your hat on, joan on January 8, 2010 at 12:36 AM
watchout5 25
It's ironic, the underpants bomber used cash, came from countries we know have a higher number of people who want to bomb us, had no luggage and had a name that, if names were really the issue, should have thrown up every red flag in the book, but he got through.

Joan on the other hand is a monetarily successful tv box star, likely didn't use cash (and I would assume at least one of her names is on the plastic in her purse), probably was carrying half a million bags with her, has a US passport, has more plastic in her face than a barbie, and has an address in the US and she was denied entry into the US.

Everything we do in security is backasswards, I don't know who to blame, or why (although if screeners are really denying people access to entire airports based on their name only, or at least have the power to, it seems a bit heavy handed). I would understand if the resolution was, "you're missing this flight so we're going to investigate and get you on another plane", but this was people in Costa Rica claiming one of our TV stars is too dangerous for America but fine to stay in their country. If Joan really was some kind of threat, and they turned this threat back into the population of Costa Rica on the basis that she's a threat to the United States, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of security? If this person really was some kind of threat to society in some way by releasing this person back into the regular population you're all but sanctioning mass murder. That's why I'd be pissed at that screener, contrary to Joan's idea that her gender played a role, which is why no one will ever take Joan seriously.
Posted by watchout5 http://www.overclockeddrama.com on January 9, 2010 at 1:40 AM

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