Joan Rivers Calls Michelle Obama 'Blackie O'

Posted on Jan 23, 2011 @ 04:02AM

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WENN

Comedienne Joan Rivers revealed she once ditched a joke about First Lady Michelle Obama from her stand-up routine - because she feared she'd be accused of racism.

Recalling the wisecrack to shock Jock Howard Stern, the comedy legend said: "We used to have Jackie O now we have Blackie O!"

The audio can be heard here on RadarOnline.com.

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Rivers wrote the quip about President Barack Obama's wife in reference to her fashionable dress sense and comparing her to former First Lady Jackie Kennedy Onassis.

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"I thought it was a funny complimentary joke when she first came (to the White House)," the 77-year-old comedienne told Stern.

"I think it's an adorable joke... I thought it was a compliment!"

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In the interview, Stern and his sidekick Robyn Quivers laughed yet questioned whether Rivers' joke was racially-motivated.

"Where's the compliment in that? I'm looking and looking, I'm trying to find it," Quivers asked Joan.

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"They said you can't say that," Joan admitted.

Rivers is starring in a new reality show Joan Knows Best on Tuesday on WE TV at 9pm.

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