NEWSKathy Griffin Reveals Why 'Really Pretty' Joan Rivers Had a Passion for Getting Plastic Surgery
Joan Rivers was a fan of cosmetic surgery.
Nov. 11 2025, Published 6:44 p.m. ET
Kathy Griffin gave some insight into late friend Joan Rivers' life under the knife. Rivers, who died in 2014 at the age of 81, was known for her hard fashion critique and her passion for getting plastic surgery.
The comedian, 65, appeared on the "Good Guys" podcast on November 10 and revealed why she thinks Rivers often underwent cosmetic operations.
"I actually think when you're a chick comedian, they just go for your looks," Griffin told hosts Josh Peck and Ben Soffer.
What Kathy Griffin Had to Say About Joan Rivers
The funnywoman appeared on the 'Good Guys' podcast on November 10.
The My Life on the D-List star then explained how Rivers had a lot of negative moments coming her way during her lifetime, which probably forced her to change her looks.
"Like my comments from Trumpers act my dry v-----, which don't have. You're welcome. And how ugly I am. And I think that's why Joan [Rivers] did so much. She was really pretty," she went on. "I loved her like a sister, like a mother like an aunt, like a cousin."
Kathy Griffin explained why Joan Rivers got so much plastic surgery.
"I think after hearing that day in and day out..." Griffin continued, alluding to the idea that when someone is constantly hearing mean things about themselves, they want to change how they look.
"I'm from a generation where these agents thought nothing of saying stuff like, 'Yeah they loved your audition but they're going to go attractive, sorry,'" she recalled.
Griffin discussed her own plastic surgery, saying she got a $218,000 facelift, a nose job, as well as Botox injections and fillers.
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Joan Rivers Once Begged Andy Cohen to Get Botox
Joan Rivers died in 2014.
Andy Cohen revealed last year that Rivers urged him to get fillers.
"Joan Rivers, before she died, used to beg me to get Botox," the 57-year-old Bravo host told "How to Fail" podcast host Elizabeth Day at the time. "I've not touched it. I’ve never even had Botox."
"And every guy that I know who's hosting a TV show, mainly all of them are younger than me or about my age. They all have had Botox," the Watch What Happens Live emcee noted. "I look at their foreheads. I’m like, 'Your forehead does not move.'"
Kathy Will Always Miss Joan Rivers
Kathy Griffin and Joan Rivers were great friends.
As for Griffin, she shared a close mentorship and friendship with Rivers.
In a 2024 interview with Windy City Times, the Celebrity Run-Ins: My A-Z Index author revealed how much she misses the Daytime Emmy winner.
"I miss her voice. Look: Joan was a Republican, but she was a fiscal Republican. She was friends with Donald [Trump] but she knew how scary he was as an enemy. And I wasn’t scared of him, but she was. I think with Joan being Joan, that she would’ve started making jokes about him because it was in her DNA."
