Make Fun Of Faith? Sure. Jesus? Uh, No.
Comedian Kathy Griffin Dissed the Christian Messiah In Her (Censored) Emmy Speech, Revealing a Sensitive Part Of Hollywood's Funny Bone

By Kevin Eckstrom
Religion News Service
Saturday, September 22, 2007

C omedian Kathy Griffin has built her D-list career on telling A-list Hollywood celebrities -- Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Ryan Seacrest -- to "suck it."

So when she told Jesus to "suck it" after winning an Emmy for her reality show, "My Life on the D-List," it was meant as another swipe at someone who gets invited to better parties than she does.

But as she quickly learned, dissing Jesus, even in left-leaning Hollywood, carries more risk than poking fun at the Lindsay Lohans of the world.

Griffin's remarks -- "I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus. . . . So all I can say is, suck it, Jesus. This reward is my god now!" -- were censored when the E! Network broadcast the Creative Arts Emmy Awards show last Saturday.

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences said the remarks were struck because they were "offensive." It wasn't clear whether they disliked the vulgar "suck it" part or the blasphemous "this reward is my god now" part.

Either way, one thing is clear: Poking fun at religion in general is fine. Taking jabs at hypocritical religious leaders is even encouraged. But when it comes to Jesus, Hollywood still gets squeamish.

Some conservatives smell a double standard. Audiences laugh when Griffin insults the Christian messiah, but she could never get away with telling Muhammad to do the same, they say. "She wants to stick it to Christians," said Kiera McCaffrey of the New York-based Catholic League civil rights organization.

Atheists see a more sinister plotline at work in the network's decision to muzzle Griffin. It's not about decency, they say. "It was about protecting belief in Jesus," said Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists. "You're not allowed to say anything that ridicules belief. . . . What's next? Punishment for that?"

Does this represent a full-frontal assault on Christian sensibilities? Is Griffin just trying to cash in at Jesus's expense?

It all comes down to context, observers say.

"But context is everything, and context is what we are losing as we talk past one another," said Andrew Sullivan, a conservative blogger.

There's also the question of intent. Did Griffin set out to insult Christians or just draw a few headlines? She said she was parodying starlets who thank Jesus for awards and box-office receipts. She didn't seem to mind the publicity.

"I just am loving it," she told CNN's Larry King. "It's in the newspapers around the world, and every article starts with, 'Emmy winner Kathy Griffin,' and then the letters all just blur after that."

Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, president of CLAL, a New York-based Jewish think tank, said that he found Griffin's remarks offensive but that "peddling anger and offense is simply her stock in trade."

In other words, consider the source.

The larger question, and the one that probably hits closest to home for many people, is whether Griffin was taking a swipe at religion generally or Jesus in particular. And that, observers say, is not an insignificant distinction.

For most Christians, Jesus of Nazareth is the savior of mankind. "For us and our salvation, he came down from heaven," the Nicene Creed says. "For our sake, he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried."

In short, Jesus deserves a certain level of respect. That's what hurt, not angered, Russ Hollingsworth, general manager of the Miracle Theater in Nashville, which bought a full-page ad in USA Today taking Griffin to task.

"There's a line that our culture really shouldn't cross," he said. "Kind of like walking by a funeral and shouting obscenities at a family. That's something we don't do."

For years, Hollywood has struggled with what to do with Jesus. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber made him a "Superstar," and Martin Scorsese tried to humanize him (some said too much) in "The Last Temptation of Christ."

Jack Kenny gave it a try in last year's short-lived NBC drama "The Book of Daniel," which featured an everyman Jesus who knew about the Vicodin hidden in the desk drawer of priest Daniel Webster. That was too much for many viewers, and Kenny said that Jesus remains on a pedestal, above it all.

"But it's a weird thing, a pedestal," Kenny said. "Because it makes someone unknowable and untouchable. Is that really what we want with a figure like Jesus?"

RNS writers Adelle M. Banks and Daniel Burke and RNS-affiliated freelance writers G. Jeffrey MacDonald and Rachel Pomerance contributed to this report.