PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (Sept. 20) - Members of a Christian theater troupe are spreading the word that they're irate about Kathy Griffin's off-color speech in accepting a creative arts Emmy earlier this month.
The Miracle Theater in Pigeon Forge spent $90,440 on a full-page advertisement in USA Today that ran nationally Monday, proclaiming "enough is enough."
In accepting the Emmy for her Bravo reality show, "My Life on the D-List," Griffin said 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."
She went on to hold up her Emmy, make an off-color remark about Christ and proclaim, "This award is my god now!"
"We at The Miracle Theater consider it an honor to stand for Jesus today," the ad said. "We may never win a national award. We may never be household names. We may never be seen in Hollywood. Although others may choose to use their national platform to slander our God, we are honored as professional entertainers to stand for Christ."
The Associated Press was attempting Wednesday to reach Griffin's publicist.
Griffin's comments have also drawn ire from the Catholic League, an anti-defamation group that called on the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences to "denounce Griffin's obscene and blasphemous comment" at the Sept. 9 ceremony. The E! channel chose to edit Griffin's speech when it aired the taped event last Saturday night.
Griffin, whose standup comedy shows often focus on mocking and dishing on celebrities, issued a statement through her publicist in response to the Catholic League's criticisms, indicating her statements were meant as a joke.
"Am I the only Catholic left with a sense of humor?" she said in the statement.
Russ Hollingsworth, general manager of The Miracle Theater, said members of the theater's cast were tired of celebrities' joking attitudes toward Jesus. The theater is sponsoring a petition on its Web site, www.miracletheater.com.
"When word reached our cast that a Hollywood celebrity had stood before TV cameras and said such vulgar things about Christ, they were incensed," he said. "It's just not OK anymore to mock Christians and Jesus with impunity."
Griffin was fired in 2005 from her job as an E! Channel red-carpet commentator after joking at the Golden Globe Awards that child actress Dakota Fanning had checked into rehab.
(I just had to have societies input on this) Personally i thought it was just something that was taken out of text by hard core christian faith activist that dont have any humor and dont realize that if they can take a joke then there should be no reason why they should lie to any child about Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy. Now public(minority) was mad cause she said "God had nothing to do with this win", i understand saying that from a comic standpoint...personally i never thanked God for a win ...for the same reason why i didnt blame him for a loss...who cares really...what ever happened to personal achievement and goals. I mean heck if i made an "A" on a test that i studied for really hard im persoanlly taking all the credit...Same way if i didnt study and happened to also make an "A"...im saying i was "lucky". In society now-a-days i think its psychologically easier to believe that maybe i did have help with a certain task by a supreme being. But Ask yourself....who do i thank for a loss or an "F" or if I got injured in a wreck.But when i survive the wreck perhaps when im layed up in the hospital im thinking to myself "i have the will to live" only the strong survive. Now i know Charles Darwin had his ideas but heck sometimes good to belive that human nature might be more powerful then we think. Good with the bad and bad with the good.
