Joan Rivers lost her sense of humor the other day. Actually the media reports say that Joan Rivers went ballistic on the air. What caused the outrage? A Jews for Jesus commercial that aired on her WOR radio show.
She said, "Do not proselytize on my show, you (well I can't say that word on the air)." She went on to say, "I am going to say right now that I am against this. I find this disgusting to put on my show!"
She had been alerted that the ad came on during one of the breaks to her radio show. She came back to denounce the ad: it's a rarity for a radio personality to attack an advertiser.
"I am a Jew, I was born a Jew and I plan to die a Jew," Rivers said. "How dare you. How dare you advertise on my show! And every time you advertise on my show, I will come out and say I find this disgusting, I find this offensive and I find this ridiculous!"
The Jews for Jesus ad that caused all the furor touted a new book Future Hope and featured two Jewish men arguing over whether Jesus Christ is the Jewish messiah, while the Jewish song "Hava Nagilah" played in the background.
I understand from people at Jews for Jesus that Joan Rivers has calmed down, and they hope to build a bridge to her. They sent her flowers the other day and have heard her joke about her outburst.
As I understand it, Jews for Jesus just bought a block of radio time and did not even know the commercial would air on the Joan Rivers Show until after the controversy erupted. But this outburst may have provided an opportunity for the gospel. At least I'm praying that it will.
I'm Kerby Anderson of Probe Ministries, and that's my opinion.