I don't believe anyone who doesn't know Joan Rivers personally can say whether or not she is a lovely person. All people can comment on is her jokes and serious comments. If her family and friends say she is lovely then we must accept that as their truth. She was clearly asked a question by a reporter and answered honestly, that it offended many is regrettable but she has a right to say what she likes
When Joan was asked about the 2,000 Palestinians who had died in the conflict she replied: "Oh my god. Tell that to the people in Hiroshima.
"Good. Good. When you declare war, you declare war. They started it. We now don't count who's dead.
"You're dead, you deserve to be dead. Don’t you dare make me feel bad about that."
Now, in her defence, many Americans might have responded in a similar fashion if asked about Islamist extremists just after 9/11.....
BUT...when you are a public figure who makes a living from public speaking, you have a personal RESPONSIBILITY to keep any extreme views to yourself.... especially when the dead includes a large portion of innocent civilians.
I don't know Joan so I cannot get really worked up either way about her health. But, as a public figure, those remarks were inappropriate and she should be ashamed of them.
Yes, her family loves her... probably despite her faults and not because of them BUT that applies to all of us.
When did we all get to the stage where we feel 'public outpouring' is acceptable even for people we never met? She is a stranger so we can be mildly interested, slightly sad at her predicament etc But surely not grief stricken etc.