In the line of fire

In the line of fire

Anyone is fair game for Joan Rivers -“ even her unfailingly loyal gay fans.

Every gay man in Australia better show up [to my tour] because I have photographed all of them and they’re going to be very sorry, the acid-tongued comedian tells Sydney Star Observer from New York.

I have pictures on everybody. I will blackmail the entire gay community. I’m going to release the photos onto the internet.

Three years after a star turn in the Mardi Gras festival, Rivers is promising as much bruising wit as ever as she prepares for an Australian tour in May.

The 70-something New Yorker has called her latest show the First Annual Farewell Tour in tribute to one of her favourite targets -“ hapless celebrities.

Some people are so dumb. They say to me, -˜So in other words, this is your farewell tour?’

[I say,] -˜No, it’s called my first annual farewell tour.’

Cher did that farewell tour for 18 years, she says. [She] was waved off by Hannibal.

The caustic comedian will also stir controversy with her forthright take on current Hollywood happenings -“ including the ubiquitous Brokeback Mountain.

I don’t think they were gay, she declares of the film’s troubled protagonists.

The trailer at the end -“ there’s not a tassel, there’s not a pillow, there’s not a matching fabric. This is not a gay man’s trailer!

So I think their lives were just ruined because they thought they were gay.

Whether on stage or in her notorious Oscars red carpet fashion commentary, Rivers says crushing honesty has always been her way.

I just love saying what I think. I just love saying things that most people don’t dare to say. I think that’s what comedians should do. That’s what sets us apart.

Audiences will have the chance to get their own back at the Logies in Melbourne, where she’ll be a guest presenter.

They’re going to have a chance to yell at me. They’re going to have a chance to discuss how terrible I look, she says.

Will she return the favour?

Oh yeah, right! she laughs. [I’ll say,] -˜You in the front row. You look like shit!’ If somebody’s terrible we’ll soon know.

But the comic’s outrageous gags will probably have the most impact on her beloved gay fans.

They’re funny, they’re clever and they get it, Rivers says of her gay followers.

They’ve always adored me and I’ve always adored them. It’s been a love fest all these years.

Joan Rivers -“ First Annual Farewell Tour is at the State Theatre on 12 May. Book on 136 100 or at the Ticketmaster website.

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