Christopher Polk/Getty ImagesUPDATE: Attorney Beck Lee, the recipient of the cease-and-desist letter from the Rivers family's attorney, tells E! News that Brad Zimmerman had nothing to do with promoting the recording in question and that he himself was the one who wrote the email quoted by Rivers lawyer Marc Chamlin in the letter. The recording has been taken down, Lee says, adding that Zimmerman has been unfairly tainted in this case.
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Melissa Rivers and her son, Cooper, are safe in the knowledge that they have not been alone as they continue to grieve the loss of family matriarch Joan Rivers.
"As my son Cooper and I mourn the loss of my mother, we want to thank everyone for the beautiful cards and flowers conveying heartfelt messages and condolences, which continue to arrive from around the world and through social media," Melissa wrote in a new statement she posted to WhoSay. "My mother would have been overwhelmed by the scope and depth of the love that people have expressed for her. It is certainly helping to lift our spirits during this time.
"We are forever grateful for your kindness and support in continuing to honor my mother's legacy, and for remembering the joy and laughter that she brought to so many."
Darn straight she did.
Unfortunately, due to that popularity and her larger-than-life stature in the entertainment world, inevitably there might be certain people trying to capitalize on Joan's name.
An attorney for the Rivers family has fired off a cease-and-desist letter to counsel for actor-comedian Brad Zimmerman, demanding that he both apologize and immediately stop utilizing a "false and deceptive recording" he allegedly made and called Joan Rivers—The Last Session to promote his own show.
"This recording is a blatant fraud as it does not contain the voice of Joan Rivers. Nor did Joan Rivers or any representative of hers approve any such recording in any manner," attorney Marc Chamlin writes on behalf of the family, according to a copy of the letter obtained by E! News.
Chamlin states in the letter that he has a copy of an email that Zimmerman sent on Sept. 15 in which the comic wrote, "'...actually it's a stunt. We had a recording made as if Joan were doing a test of the commercial we sent over for her. Would you be willing to go along with us? I would so much appreciate it. No one knows about this except the producer and myself.'"
The letter insists that Zimmerman communicate that he'll be complying with all of the Rivers family's requests by tomorrow.
The recording in question had reportedly been billed as an outtake of a radio spot that Joan had supposedly agreed to record for Zimmerman's off-Broadway show, My Son the Waiter, A Jewish Tragedy.