Explaining that she is "saddened and disappointed," comedienne Joan Rivers has issued a statement clarifying incendiary comments she made this week about the nearly 2,000 civilians who have died during the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Israel.
Rivers, 81, says her statements were "taken out of context." Asked how she feels about Gazans who lost their lives, she told TMZ: "Ask Colin Powell. When you declare war, you declare war. They started it. We don't count who's dead. You're dead. You deserve to be dead. You started it." She also said many of the dead "were the ones with very low IQs."
After an Internet backlash, "The Fashion Police" host took to her Facebook page to say: "What I said and stand behind is, war is hell and unfortunately civilians are victims of political conflicts. We, the United States, certainly know this as 69 years later we still feel the guilt of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The media, as usual, has decided to only quote the most out of context and inflammatory non sequitur rather than giving an accurate account of what my intentions were behind the statement. Along with every other sane person in this world, I am praying for peace."
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