Thoroughly Anderson Cooper: Fair Review and Dane Cook

Flop Culture: Kathy Griffin

January 4, 2010 - 11:37pm
Sarah Stead, Arts & Entertainment Staff

When your current claim to fame is that your fame is fading, it might be a sign that you should consider stepping out of the dimming spotlight for a while. Kathy Griffin, who’s mostly known these days for starring in My Life on the D-List, managed to land a gig co-hosting CNN’s New Year's Eve special with Anderson Cooper (because nobody was going to kiss her at midnight anyway, right?), and while reviewing the top news stories of the year, she jokingly referred to Balloon Boy (a.k.a. Falcon Heene) as “Fucking Heene.”

In response, Cooper just shakes his head, offers a small, embarrassed laugh, and calls her “terrible” before carrying on. Anticipating an uproar, CNN quickly issued a statement on Griffin’s behalf, apologizing for her use of “profanity.” Nowhere in the statement did CNN apologize for hiring Griffin in the first place, nor did they acknowledge that even if what she said was offensive, it just wasn’t funny.

I’m not a fan of Griffin, her show, or of redheads in general, but I’m actually tickled that she hasn’t apologized for the incident. When you willingly put Kathy Griffin on TV and ask her to behave herself, you’re lucky if the least she does is swear. She’s never apologized for being obnoxious before, so why expect her to change now? Perhaps I’ll give her a mulligan on this one and assume that somewhere on what ought to be a lengthy list of resolutions, she’s committing herself to becoming funnier, and to stop trading notes with Dane Cook. Except that the sixth season of D-List begins airing this month, so it’s probably a safe bet to say that’s not going to happen. Fuck.

I had to express my opinion, again. Here is my comment to Ms. Stead:

Kathy Griffin's bad/good humor
Thank you, Ms Stead, for a non-biased critique on the performance of Kathy Griffin on New Year's Eve. You mention that you are not one of the many fans Ms. Griffin has, but you don't condemn her for her style which pleases a whole other people, including me. Your critique is the most balanced review I've read about that evening and Kathy's behavior. Most people would like her to shut up and die in misery, while other put her on a pedestal. You express your feelings but don't chastise her for her peculiar behavior. Thank you for a refreshing point of view.

and

When Ms. Stead mentioned Dane Cook I had no idea who he was, or why the comparison; so I decided to look him up. Surprise! Whatta hunk I found, a comedian. And for those of you not familiar with handsome Cook, here he is -- salivate.