Griffin Leaves Show, After only seven episodes, Kathy Griffin is leaving “Fashion Police.” This is an odd twist. The outrageous comedian doesn’t usually leave a show willingly. By her own admission, she’s the one getting fired or black-balled from television. Even stranger is her reasoning.
Griffin’s departure could be connected with “Fashion Police” co-host Guiliana Rancic’s recent flap. She was pilloried after making remarks about Zendaya Coleman’s dreadlocked hair. “Like I feel like she smells like patchouli oil. Or weed,” Rancic said. Coleman wasn’t the only person to respond that the comment was “ignorant.”
But if we take Griffin’s statement at face value, she’s arguing that body shaming for the sake of body shaming is a comedic no-no. That’s a worthy argument, and it’s true that Griffin’s go-to shtick doesn’t usually revolve around targeting a celebrity’s trouble spots. In general, she makes fun of A-listers for going to rehab, snorting cocaine and sleeping around. Otherwise, her jokes consist mainly of taking off her clothes in public.
And yet, it’s pretty disingenuous for Griffin to act like she’s above the particularly mean brand of humor. There’s isn’t really an intelligent “context” for Griffin’s body-shaming jokes when she pulls them out. She told People recently, “If I’m making fun of Oprah, I don’t just scream, ‘She’s fat. G’night everybody.’ I do an impression of her hilarious voice, I quote episodes of ‘Favorite Things,’ I even tell a story of my personal experience about being on her show. I do not say she’s a terrible talk show host or actress. I do not say she isn’t beautiful.”
She may adore Oprah, but does that give Griffin permission to joke about her shape? Does that even count as context?
If Griffin wants her body of work to speak for itself, here are some loud examples.
Griffin got a lot of attention after calling Bristol Palin “white Precious” — as in the title character from the movie “Precious,” an obese, pregnant inner-city teen — because Palin was the “only contestant in the history of ['Dancing With the Stars'] to gain weight.”
Griffin’s departure could be connected with “Fashion Police” co-host Guiliana Rancic’s recent flap. She was pilloried after making remarks about Zendaya Coleman’s dreadlocked hair. “Like I feel like she smells like patchouli oil. Or weed,” Rancic said. Coleman wasn’t the only person to respond that the comment was “ignorant.”
But if we take Griffin’s statement at face value, she’s arguing that body shaming for the sake of body shaming is a comedic no-no. That’s a worthy argument, and it’s true that Griffin’s go-to shtick doesn’t usually revolve around targeting a celebrity’s trouble spots. In general, she makes fun of A-listers for going to rehab, snorting cocaine and sleeping around. Otherwise, her jokes consist mainly of taking off her clothes in public.
And yet, it’s pretty disingenuous for Griffin to act like she’s above the particularly mean brand of humor. There’s isn’t really an intelligent “context” for Griffin’s body-shaming jokes when she pulls them out. She told People recently, “If I’m making fun of Oprah, I don’t just scream, ‘She’s fat. G’night everybody.’ I do an impression of her hilarious voice, I quote episodes of ‘Favorite Things,’ I even tell a story of my personal experience about being on her show. I do not say she’s a terrible talk show host or actress. I do not say she isn’t beautiful.”
She may adore Oprah, but does that give Griffin permission to joke about her shape? Does that even count as context?
If Griffin wants her body of work to speak for itself, here are some loud examples.
Griffin got a lot of attention after calling Bristol Palin “white Precious” — as in the title character from the movie “Precious,” an obese, pregnant inner-city teen — because Palin was the “only contestant in the history of ['Dancing With the Stars'] to gain weight.”
