A Christian theater group has scolded Kathy Griffin for her off-color remarks Emmy Award acceptance speech.
The Miracle Theater of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee spent $90,440 on a full-page advertisement in the September 17 national edition of USA Today.
Proclaiming "enough is enough," the ad took the comedienne to task for her speech, in which she 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, made an off-color remark about Jesus, and proclaimed "this award is my God now!"
Kathy Griffin won her Emmy for her Bravo reality show My Life on the D-List.
The Miracle Theater's ad reads "We at the Miracle Theater consider it an honor to stand for Jesus today. 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."
General manager Russ Hollingsworth said group members were offended by jokes about Jesus. "When word reached our cast that a Hollywood celebrity had stood before TV cameras and said such vulgar things about Christ, they were incensed. It's just not OK anymore to mock Christians and Jesus with impunity."
In a statement released through her publicist, the 46-year-old comedienne said she meant the remark not as a slight on Jesus Christ, but as a spoof of celebrities who routinely thank Jesus during awards acceptance speeches. "Am I the only Catholic left with a sense of humor?," she said.
Griffin's speech also drew fire from the Catholic League, an anti-defamation group which called upon the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences to "denounce Griffin's obscene and blasphemous comment" at the September 9 ceremony.
The E! Channel chose to edit Griffin's speech when it aired the taped event on September 15.