Commedian Kathy Griffin recently won an Emmy - for what I don't know - but her acceptance speech has caused quite a stir. Here's what she said:
"A lot of people come up here to thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus. [...] This award is my God now!"
Many other accounts of the speech mentioned a "lewd reference," or something like that, but never said what it was. The quote above from FOXNews deletes the "lewd reference," but last night on Bill O'Reilly's show he played the whole quote. Between the brackets (above) she said, among other things, "Suck it, Jesus!" You can read a FOXNews article about it here. Well, this is certainly something to think about, isn't it?
My first thought was one of saddness. This is a deluded person, at a variety of levels. Forget the theological angle, I'm just thinking of the personal angle, and the cultural angle. What does this say about her as a person? If she chooses not to believe in Jesus, fine; but does she have to insult those who do believe? It strikes me as cruel, mean-spirited, and certainly unnecessary. She could have made her point very clearly without the added offensive language.
Culturally, what does this say about her understanding of American culture, and even of some people who watch her shows? She just looks deeply out of touch to me. Even hard core Hollywood party-ers, many of whom have religious backgrounds, save a bit of respect for Jesus, the man on the cross.
And what does this say about the purpose of Ms. Griffin's life? Besides idolatry, hmmm, the words "shallow," "hollow," "surfacey," and "lame" all come to mind.
I did not feel any anger toward Ms. Griffin - sadness, pity, perhaps...but no anger.
Second, the whole thing struck me as false bravado. She's trying to look iconoclastic and in-your-face, which she definitely was, but from people who follow this man - the man on the cross - she probably doesn't have much to worry about. Sure the Catholic League will scream and yell a bit, but she will most likely suffer no repercussions for her comments. So, really, did she do anything risky? Well, if you believe in Jesus, yes, that was risky (but on the other hand, he sure is quick to forgive, isn't he?). But if she really wanted to be gutsy, try saying those things about Mohammad or Allah. That might take a bit of courage. People who say far less than what she said end up dead. But, for whatever reason, I don't think she or anyone else in Hollywood will say things like that.
Interesting...
See some discussion on Worldmagblog here.
2 comments:
Actually, to be "fair" to Griffin, she has publicly made sacreligous statements about scientology, Islam, and Buddhism, their adherents, their gods/prophets, and their principles, but more so in her comedy act. She's broadly anti-religion.
But I agree with you. Her goal is to be shocking and edgy and make people uncomfortable, and she succeeds, but at what cost? And for what? And why? Most of her comedy deals with celebrity gossip; she's Joan Rivers on mescaline, but sees herself as a some sort of knowledgeable religious pundit.
Thanks, Gina, I didn't know about her "equal opportunity bashing" of religion. That gives her a bit more credibility in my opinion - just a bit.
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