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EDITORIAL:
Kathy Griffin is on the wrong list


NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–I watched clips of Kathy Griffin’s acceptance speech for winning a creative arts Emmy for her reality show, “My Life on the D-List,” and her comments are nothing short of profane and blasphemous.

Remarkably, Hollywood has shown enough sensibility not to glamorize her speech. She was so out-of-bounds the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences stated it will edit the taped show so her “offensive remarks will not be part of the E! telecast” this Saturday night when the lesser known awards are presented (The main Emmy Awards air Sunday night on Fox).

I must ask your forgiveness in advance for repeating her statements (with some censorship). Please understand I gave this matter considerable thought, and there is no way to discuss her affront without letting her speak for herself.

“Can you believe this s***?” she said.

“I guess hell froze over. … 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. So, all I can say is, ‘s*** it, Jesus.’

“This award is my god now,” she concluded.

Griffin’s response to the public’s negative reaction was predictable. Her publicist released a statement from Griffin asking, “Am I the only Catholic left with a sense of humor?”

The trouble is earlier this year she described herself as a “complete militant atheist.” In a June interview with OutSmart, a homosexual-themed magazine in Houston, she also fumed, “If you don’t believe in God, [even though] you don’t try to inflict your atheism on anyone, people get furious. And yet we have to listen to everybody’s ‘God this’ and ‘Jesus that.’ I’m sorry it bothers you that I don’t believe in God. I don’t care what you believe in. Whatever.”

Her E! outburst was not a dig at actors and actresses who make a reference to God, then live with no regard to Him. Griffin simply expressed her disdain for God and those who believe in His Son.

I am still outraged — I can’t even take solace in the fact that “Hollywood” at least acknowledges she crossed the line. Yet, as angered I am about her speech, I’m equally concerned for her soul. The Bible tells us the things of the Spirit are folly to the unspiritual man, and sadly Griffin’s foolishness is evident in her contempt for God.

Griffin makes light of being on Hollywood’s “D” list — a self-deprecating reference to being snubbed from premiere runways, “must-attend” party lists and the late night talk-show circuit. In the entertainment world, status is everything, and Griffin makes a living poking fun at being excluded from the “A” list.

In matters relating to the Spirit, status is critical, too. Our eternity is determined by status — the status of our relationship with Jesus Christ. In the end, our eternal lives depend on whether we are listed in the Lamb’s Book of Life or not.

Griffin’s obscenities should raise not just righteous anger within a Christian, but her vulgar denial of Christ should also stir concern for her soul.

Pray for Kathy Griffin. She is on the wrong list; more the pity, she doesn’t know which list she really needs to be on.
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Will Hall is executive editor of Baptist Press.

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  • Will Hall