Christian theater troupe scolds Kathy Griffin

Group’s newspaper ad criticizes comic’s religious jokes during Emmy speech

Chris Pizzello / AP

Kathy Griffin said, among other things, “This award is my god now!” while accepting an Emmy for her show “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List.”

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updated 11:16 a.m. ET Sept. 20, 2007

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. - 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.”

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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.