Not that Hollywood has done any favors for Christianity in recent memory–in fact, Hollywood has seemed more like an a national audition for the anti-Christ than anything else–but recent comments by Kathy Griffin seem to have Tinsel-Town plumming new lows. Host of her own reality series, My Life on the D-List, Griffin won a creative-arts Emmy and, perhaps, got a little too creative with her acceptance speech. Griffin remarked that, “a lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus.” Griffin, not satisfied with merely one religious slur, continued with her rancor by claiming, “This award is my god now!” (To read the full comment, if you can stomach it, go to kathygriffin.net.)
The sad truth here is that Griffin rightfully railed against the questionable comments from celebs that seem to be more about gravitas than gratitude. I mean, it is difficult to take any actor/actress seriously when their public careers have little to do with their private convictions; yet he/she sounds deeply spiritual when on stage at an awards show. (Eeeeerily familiar to certain presidential candidates suddenly attributing personal strength from a relationship with Jesus that seems to have surfaced ever since the “religious right” actually made a difference at the polls in 2000 & 2004–go figure!)
However, even though Griffin may have shed some light on “thankless thesbians,” that does not give her the right to share her less-than-spiritual opinion of Jesus and the Emmy–I’m all for free speech but not, to borrow a phrase from the far left, ”hate speech.” Griffin is right that Jesus had nothing to do with her award; I have never seen her show and I can surmise this truth pretty easily. Unfortunately, she is probably right that the award has some diety status in her life as well. In a culture driven by performance and achievement, the Emmy is an ultimate goal for any television personality. Performance and achievement are not evil by themselves; they are simply better slaves than masters. Griffin’s comments are telling of a world that glorifies personal aggrandizement and belittles true spiritual sentiment (especially when it’s Christian).
I suppose I have two primary questions regarding this “celebrity faux pas”: Why is this not a story that warrants any more than the minor press attention it has received? (Is it because Hollywood wants to create “distance” between itself and Griffin’s inflammatory remarks or because she’s just not worth it?) What would the reaction have been if remarks had been made by a Christian entertainer about Mohammed? (Remember the press that the questionable cartoons received.)
