Here's Why Giuliana Rancic Really Left Her Hosting Gig At E! News

Giuliana Rancic, one of the all-time queens of entertainment reporting, graced TV screens for years as the host of "E! News." Delivering the juiciest celebrity scoops day-to-day, Rancic's sharp wit, infectious charm, and hot takes on fashion also endeared her as a host on E!'s weekly program, "Fashion Police." With Rancic becoming practically synonymous with E!, her abrupt departure from "E! News" in 2015 left fans scratching their heads. (She eventually returned to the gig in June 2018 but left again in 2019.)

While some attributed Rancic's initial departure to a rumored rivalry with her replacement, Maria Menounos, others pointed the finger at her now-infamous comment about Zendaya's 2015 Oscars red carpet look. During "Fashion Police" coverage in February 2015, Rancic dissed the "Euphoria" star's choice to pair braided dreadlocks with her white Vivienne Westwood gown, quipping, "I feel like she smells like patchouli oil" (as an off-camera voice chimed in, "Or weed!") Many viewed Rancic's musing as racially insensitive. Zendaya clapped back in a lengthy Instagram post, expressing disappointment in those "who choose to judge others based on the curl of their hair." Cohost Kelly Osbourne quit E! a few days later, insinuating Rancic was to blame, while their fellow panelist Kathy Griffin told the Chicago Sun-Times, "I wouldn't have said the joke in the first place."

When Rancic left her "E! News" anchor gig five months later, many pinned it on Zendaya-Gate. However, the TV personality insisted on an entirely different cause for her departure.

Giuliana Rancic has insisted that, despite speculation otherwise, her 2015 departure from "E! News" was a drama-free affair. Staying on E! as host of "Live from the Red Carpet" and co-host of "Fashion Police," Rancic told People, "It was 100 percent my decision to leave," adding at the time, "I need to take a new venture and new challenge."  She elaborated, "I took on a challenge 14 years ago. I was a young reporter and 'E! News' was my dream job. It's been an incredible journey." Interestingly, she revealed that she informed E! of her desire to leave "E! News" three years ago, but the network "wanted me to stay." Calling it "three years in the making," Rancic said the decision will allow her to "grow as a person, as a businesswoman, as a host."

Despite attempts to move on from its backlash, Rancic's February 2015 Zendaya comments haunted her throughout that year. The TV personality addressed the scandal head-on during an interview with Today to promote her memoir, "Going Off Script," in April 2015. "I find racism reprehensible. I don't tolerate it at all," Rancic stated emphatically, blaming bad editing for botching an otherwise harmless joke. "It was truly a joke about the hippie culture," she said, insisting that the show edited out her usage of the word "bohemian" and gestures, like peace signs, that she made. Having seen the aired clip, Rancic said, "I see why people took offense."

Outside of Zendaya-Gate, Giuliana Rancic left "E! News" under a nebulous cloud of rumors that she and Maria Menounos — her replacement on the show — had been feuding for some time. After reports surfaced of Rancic's departure in July 2015, one source told Page Six that it was "half her decision to leave and half getting pushed out." Characterizing them as perennial rivals, the insider gabbed that Rancic and Menounos avoided "being on-set together" at all costs. According to another source, however, the feud was more one-sided, with Menounos even viewing Rancic "as a role model." The same source added, "Giuliana doesn't feel the same way." In June 2018, when Rancic did return to "E! News," a Radar insider claimed that she was "thrilled to finally have gotten her revenge."

Nonetheless, both Rancic and Menounos have continuously shut down feud rumors. "They're absurd," Rancic told People," adding, "I've never had a feud or drama with any of my 'E! News' hosts or co-hosts." Meanwhile, Menounos told Redbook Magazine's October 2015 issue that she was told by E! that she wasn't "coming over to take somebody's job." During an earlier Sirius XM interview in 2014, Menounos expressed disdain for rumors that pitted her against Rancic. "Why would you want to hurt two innocent people?" she questioned, adding that stories about two women feuding made her feel "so sick."