Kathy Griffin: Comedian and Activist
Or, as Melissa Etheridge dubs her, "Norma Gay!"
That's right, comedian Kathy Griffin, in her endless quest to become an A-lister ended up becoming an activist – an entirely different A-list – fighting alongside her many gay fans against California Proposition 8.
Having been a longtime Kathy Griffin fan, learning about her new leaf as a political activist really made me sit up and take notice.
Given that you’re reading this on Bilerico, I’m guessing you’re well-versed in the history of California as a gay battleground state, but gays and lesbians aren’t the only Californians pissed off about this. Many of us straight people are – I’ve been writing about this for months – and now Kathy Griffin is in the fight too.
In this episode (Episode 8, Season 5) of her show “My Life On The D-List” which airs this Monday, July 27th, on Bravo, Griffin takes on a more serious tone than usual, starting off with a declaration of war, more or less, on the eve of the California Supreme Court’s decision on the constitutionality of Prop 8.
“In November that bullshit passed making gay marriage illegal and putting California back in the stone age,” Griffin starts out. “California gays are pissed. Pissed off, and so am I. This is ridiculous. Prop 8 is unconstitutional and so we've taken the issue to the Supreme Court of California who will hopefully (*sigh*) do the right thing.
“Because if you mess with the gays, you mess with me!"
So to kick off her quest, she enlists the support of power lesbians because, as Kathy puts it: “They are tapped in. They golf. They focus. They legislate.”
Griffin heads over to the home of Melissa Etheridge and Tammy Lynn Michaels and asks them for political advice, and how to argue the case for gay marriage without doing what she normally does – “Just tell people to fuck off” – when confronted by foes of gay rights.
Before leaving Melissa and Tammy's house, she asks Etheridge to use her Oscar – “a clearly gay guy” – to dub her “Norma Gay.” And thus, Griffin embarks on her quest to march to the capitol and get our state to repeal Prop 8.
But, not before dropping in on her buddies at The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center to "find some gay youths to recruit, first."
We see her meet six very sweet kids who are taking part in a very cool program at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, and eventually the whole group flies to Sacramento to march against Prop 8 just a day or two before the supreme court ruling.
The young gay and lesbians, surprisingly, knew very little about Matthew Shepherd, so Griffin tells them about him, and explains why his tragic story is really a story everyone needs to hear about, especially kids who might be also have been victimized by others for the same reasons.
It’s not all serious – this is Kathy Griffin after all, and we see clips of a comedy benefit she does for the LA Gay and Lesbian Center later – but it’s the most serious-minded episode of this series I can remember. I think that when you realize how prevalent gay bashing is still, today, you can't watch these kids in show learning about Matthew Shepherd for the first time and not tear up yourself. Hate is a problem for all of us to contend with and California just made it worse by not repealing that stupid law. Having the right to marry is a societal issue. We need to speak out until everyone has the same rights as everyone one else, because, as I'm sure you know "separate is not equal." And we won't stop until it is.
And good for her, I say, to devote an entire episode to this issue. As she says in a video clip below, "there's nothing funny about Prop 8" so given she's a comedian it's a pretty bold move to dedicate so much of her series to such an unfunny and serious cause. Right on, Kathy.
As a straight woman with a sense of humor who’s also fought much of the last year against all things Prop 8, it’s great to see people with any amount of celebrity – D-list, A-list, whatever – use their voice to also speak out.
Here's a clip where Kathy calls herself Norma Gay after Sally Field's "Norma Rae" who fought for union rights. However, according to Kathy the word "Union is not enough." She demands 'Marriage." -- You go, Girl.
Also, in the spirit of sharing, here's a full clip of the quite eloquent speech Kathy gave in Sacramento last March, clearly and passionately stating in no uncertain terms why this cause is important to her, and to all of us. You really need to see this: She's so well spoken and strong, here, and only a snippet or two of this are in the Bravo episode.
And, so I highly recommend you tune in this Monday to Bravo to catch this very important next episode involving Kathy as "Norma Gay." I guarantee that, like myself, you will find it both funny and moving. But, as I said before, is that what you will not find in the Bravo segment is her speech she gave on the steps of the capitol which was so eloquent. I highly recommend seeing this clip below to hear her for yourself.
She may claim she's new to the role of activist, or that children threaten her, but let me tell you, she can be a role model to my kids any time. I'd be proud for my children to grow up knowing that activism is about taking action to demand equality and freedom for all.
But, I'm your not-so-average Orange County mom, who thought nothing of driving her kids around in her minivan after dark to help mom "re-organize" those pesky "Yes, on Prop 8" signs. Or, while walking the dog at night also occasionally swipe one or two signs under my sweater despite sporting a suddenly rectangular profile with tell tale metal posts protruding from under my shirt from what turned out to be surprisingly unbendable metal structures of these lawn signs.
Yep, that's me: A "Real Housewife of Orange County," alright. *sigh.
You can read about my (wayward actions) post: The California Yard Sign Wars, here.
Or you can read some of my former posts fighting Prop 8 from last fall here:
One California voter's opinion about Prop 8
or here:
Totally disgusted with Pro-Prop 8, California
But, what do I know? I'm just a hopelessly vanilla mom from behind the Orange Curtain using my own remedial blogger voice to stand up for what I believe in. And I salute Kathy Griffin for doing so as well in her own life on a far grander scale on My Life on the D-List.
This Monday. July 27th, 2009. -- Seriously, don't miss this.
That's right, comedian Kathy Griffin, in her endless quest to become an A-lister ended up becoming an activist – an entirely different A-list – fighting alongside her many gay fans against California Proposition 8.
Having been a longtime Kathy Griffin fan, learning about her new leaf as a political activist really made me sit up and take notice.
Given that you’re reading this on Bilerico, I’m guessing you’re well-versed in the history of California as a gay battleground state, but gays and lesbians aren’t the only Californians pissed off about this. Many of us straight people are – I’ve been writing about this for months – and now Kathy Griffin is in the fight too.
In this episode (Episode 8, Season 5) of her show “My Life On The D-List” which airs this Monday, July 27th, on Bravo, Griffin takes on a more serious tone than usual, starting off with a declaration of war, more or less, on the eve of the California Supreme Court’s decision on the constitutionality of Prop 8.
“In November that bullshit passed making gay marriage illegal and putting California back in the stone age,” Griffin starts out. “California gays are pissed. Pissed off, and so am I. This is ridiculous. Prop 8 is unconstitutional and so we've taken the issue to the Supreme Court of California who will hopefully (*sigh*) do the right thing.
“Because if you mess with the gays, you mess with me!"
So to kick off her quest, she enlists the support of power lesbians because, as Kathy puts it: “They are tapped in. They golf. They focus. They legislate.”
Griffin heads over to the home of Melissa Etheridge and Tammy Lynn Michaels and asks them for political advice, and how to argue the case for gay marriage without doing what she normally does – “Just tell people to fuck off” – when confronted by foes of gay rights.
Before leaving Melissa and Tammy's house, she asks Etheridge to use her Oscar – “a clearly gay guy” – to dub her “Norma Gay.” And thus, Griffin embarks on her quest to march to the capitol and get our state to repeal Prop 8.
But, not before dropping in on her buddies at The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center to "find some gay youths to recruit, first."
We see her meet six very sweet kids who are taking part in a very cool program at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, and eventually the whole group flies to Sacramento to march against Prop 8 just a day or two before the supreme court ruling.
The young gay and lesbians, surprisingly, knew very little about Matthew Shepherd, so Griffin tells them about him, and explains why his tragic story is really a story everyone needs to hear about, especially kids who might be also have been victimized by others for the same reasons.
It’s not all serious – this is Kathy Griffin after all, and we see clips of a comedy benefit she does for the LA Gay and Lesbian Center later – but it’s the most serious-minded episode of this series I can remember. I think that when you realize how prevalent gay bashing is still, today, you can't watch these kids in show learning about Matthew Shepherd for the first time and not tear up yourself. Hate is a problem for all of us to contend with and California just made it worse by not repealing that stupid law. Having the right to marry is a societal issue. We need to speak out until everyone has the same rights as everyone one else, because, as I'm sure you know "separate is not equal." And we won't stop until it is.
And good for her, I say, to devote an entire episode to this issue. As she says in a video clip below, "there's nothing funny about Prop 8" so given she's a comedian it's a pretty bold move to dedicate so much of her series to such an unfunny and serious cause. Right on, Kathy.
As a straight woman with a sense of humor who’s also fought much of the last year against all things Prop 8, it’s great to see people with any amount of celebrity – D-list, A-list, whatever – use their voice to also speak out.
Here's a clip where Kathy calls herself Norma Gay after Sally Field's "Norma Rae" who fought for union rights. However, according to Kathy the word "Union is not enough." She demands 'Marriage." -- You go, Girl.
Also, in the spirit of sharing, here's a full clip of the quite eloquent speech Kathy gave in Sacramento last March, clearly and passionately stating in no uncertain terms why this cause is important to her, and to all of us. You really need to see this: She's so well spoken and strong, here, and only a snippet or two of this are in the Bravo episode.
And, so I highly recommend you tune in this Monday to Bravo to catch this very important next episode involving Kathy as "Norma Gay." I guarantee that, like myself, you will find it both funny and moving. But, as I said before, is that what you will not find in the Bravo segment is her speech she gave on the steps of the capitol which was so eloquent. I highly recommend seeing this clip below to hear her for yourself.
She may claim she's new to the role of activist, or that children threaten her, but let me tell you, she can be a role model to my kids any time. I'd be proud for my children to grow up knowing that activism is about taking action to demand equality and freedom for all.
But, I'm your not-so-average Orange County mom, who thought nothing of driving her kids around in her minivan after dark to help mom "re-organize" those pesky "Yes, on Prop 8" signs. Or, while walking the dog at night also occasionally swipe one or two signs under my sweater despite sporting a suddenly rectangular profile with tell tale metal posts protruding from under my shirt from what turned out to be surprisingly unbendable metal structures of these lawn signs.
Yep, that's me: A "Real Housewife of Orange County," alright. *sigh.
You can read about my (wayward actions) post: The California Yard Sign Wars, here.
Or you can read some of my former posts fighting Prop 8 from last fall here:
One California voter's opinion about Prop 8
or here:
Totally disgusted with Pro-Prop 8, California
But, what do I know? I'm just a hopelessly vanilla mom from behind the Orange Curtain using my own remedial blogger voice to stand up for what I believe in. And I salute Kathy Griffin for doing so as well in her own life on a far grander scale on My Life on the D-List.
This Monday. July 27th, 2009. -- Seriously, don't miss this.
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