“Comedy pioneer Joan Rivers has died at the age of 81, according to a statement released by her daughter Melissa Rivers.

“Comedian Joan Rivers died in a New York hospital Thursday afternoon, a week after suffering cardiac arrest during a medical procedure, her daughter said.

“”She passed peacefully at 1:17 p.m. surrounded by family and close friends,” Melissa Rivers said in a written statement.

“Rivers, 81, had been on life support at Manhattan’s Mount Sinai hospital, where she was taken after she stopped breathing at the Yorkville Endoscopy clinic last Thursday.

“Rivers was undergoing an apparently minor elective procedure at the clinic when she suffered cardiac and respiratory arrest, according to the New York Fire Department.” – YT