By M&C News Jun 27, 2006, 18:12 GMT
In a recent report filed by Julie Hinds of the Detroit Free Press, “Kathy Griffin dishes the juicy stuff about the stars, including herself.”
"I'm banned from 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show,' which makes me sad, because I'm a real admirer of hers," says Chicago native Griffin. "But apparently the show said, 'Well, we can't have you talking trash about celebrities, and our audience is friendlier than that.'"
Griffin is cognizant of the power of her barbarous celebrity comments, and her popular second season of her Bravo network reality show, "My Life on the D-List," is back, and includes USO footage of her trip to entertain the troops in Iraq. Recently Bravo aired, "Kathy Griffin: Strong Black Woman," which contains material on her experiences with the E! Network, and mega Canadian superstar, Celine Dion.
Hinds reports, “The new season of "My Life on the D-List" covers lots of territory: the death of Griffin's dog, her quest to auction off a weekend at her house for charity, her visit to Iraq , her wine-in-a-box-loving parents, and, very discreetly, her marital woes.
According to People magazine, her divorce from software consultant Matt Moline, who appears in "My Life on the D-List," was finalized in May.”
Griffin says she's reconciled with Moline and they're doing the best they can.
But personal setbacks never waver Griffin’s love for the absurd in celebrity-ville. "I am fascinated by how celebrities, by and large, don't have a good sense of humor about themselves, and yet they're so ridiculous," she says to reporter Hinds for the Detroit Free Press.
Some Griffin gems include her take on Britney Spears: "Where's the parenting in that household? Because somebody's got to be there when Britney drops the kid on the head." Scientologist Tom Cruise: "Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Was he always crazy and Pat Kingsley kept a lid on it, or did he just turn crazy?"
"What I like is, I like to gawk at celebrities," she says. "I like to go to a red carpet event and see what everybody's wearing and who's drunk and who's talking to whom." Only instead of going home and telling a few friends what happened, she shares her impressions with her audience.
Griffin’s run on NBC's "Suddenly Susan," launched her career in the celebrity commentary direction which now dominates her stand-up routine.
"All of a sudden, I'm working with Brooke Shields every day and I'm going to Andre Agassi's house and I'm presenting on an awards show and then I'm hosting an awards show," she recalls. "And you get to see all that backstage stuff. I was sort of immersed in the world of celebrity and never knew that celebrities were so ridiculous until I saw for myself."
In a recent Newsweek profile, Griffin spoke of not being able to ‘draw in’ straight, white middle-aged men, “a demographic that doesn't care that Gwyneth Paltrow named her child Apple.” Quipped Griffin.
According to Hinds, “As a comedy veteran, Griffin says the business is still profoundly sexist and the age-old stereotype still exists that "chicks aren't funny." It bothers her that Oprah Winfrey "will do an entire love fest with Jon Stewart and Bernie Mac and Cedric and Jerry Seinfeld, and I can't remember the last time Oprah even had Wanda Sykes on or Caroline Rhea or Joan Rivers."
Bravo Show Excerpts from Kathy Griffin:
On CNN's Anderson Cooper: "I love that Anderson Cooper covered Katrina in Prada. He's like, 'I'm up to my knees in human feces, in Prada.'"
On Cirque du Soleil: "I'm sorry. I can't stand it. Here's why. I don't want to see a French-Canadian clown slowly rolling a beach ball across the stage for 5 minutes while saying, 'ye-yay-yay.'"
On her politics: "I'm not even a Democrat anymore. I'm so (bleeping) far to the left that I'm a Sandinista. I'm actually for, like, gun control during gay marriage."
On hearing Spielberg was angry at her Dakota Fanning jokes: "Steven Spielberg, furious with me! And I love that. I'm like, 'What? I won't be able to star in any more Steven Spielberg movies? What will I do with my days?'"
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