LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, today mourned the death of entertainer and comedienne Joan Rivers.
“We are deeply saddened on the news of the passing of Joan Rivers,” said AHF President Michael Weinstein. “Her heart was as big as her mouth was tart. When her hairdresser became ill with AIDS and spent his last days at AHF’s Chris Brownlie Hospice in Los Angeles in 1989, Joan become an ardent supporter of AHF and an early advocate on AIDS issues at a time when few public figures were willing to speak out. There was Elizabeth Taylor. There was Princess Diana. There was Madonna, still a passionate voice on AIDS. And there was Joan Rivers. We extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to her daughter Melissa and her entire family during this difficult time.”
From the earliest days of the AIDS epidemic, when the faces of AIDS were primarily gay men, Rivers’ special place in her heart for people with AIDS led her to host and participate in multiple benefits for AHF and other AIDS groups. In 1992, AIDS Healthcare Foundation honored Rivers for her AIDS work at its Academy Awards Gala held at the Director's Guild.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to nearly 344,000 individuals in 34 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare.