Kathy Griffin is going to be in Montreal this week, hosting Just For Laughs.
Kathy Griffin is going to be guest-hosting Larry King Live on July 25th.
Brooke Hogan cancelled her appearance on Larry King upon learning that Kathy would be hosting.
Consider for a moment what comedian and actress Kathy Griffin has accomplished in her career as of late - or, perhaps even more important, how she accomplished it.
Griffin - who will be hosting a Just for Laughs gala Thursday night at Montreal's Théâtre St. Denis - has taken her seemingly innate ability to take the piss out of celebrities, blended it with her own self-mockery of her standing in Hollywood, and has managed to transform herself into a bona-fide star. (If you need proof, consider that the latest season of her reality show My Life on the D-List recently scored the highest-ever ratings for the Bravo! cable channel in the United States.)
Griffin, 47, said her recently burgeoning success and that of her show are directly linked to our simultaneous obsession and revulsion with celebrity culture.
"I think most people identify with me more than they do with Nicole Kidman. Even though most women would want to be Nicole Kidman, certainly more than they'd want to be me - in fact, I'd rather be Nicole Kidman," Griffin said during a recent phone interview. "However, we look at these celebrities, we read everything about them, we see them behaving badly and going to jail and walking out of their cars without their panties - most people couldn't get away with that. I'm certainly at a level where I couldn't get away with any of that s-t!
"And so I think the reason more people come to my shows now more than ever is because while we're obsessed with celebrity culture, I think we're getting appalled by the way most celebrities are above the law."
Griffin recounts a telling anecdote about contacting People following her performance for U.S. troops in Afghanistan and offering her own photos to the magazine if it was interested in running a story about her experiences abroad. While the magazine expressed great interest, Griffin said: "The article ended up being a quarter of a page - and the entire rest of the page was about Jessica Simpson's favourite handbags!
"That's when I realized I was on the D-List - when people would rather read about Jessica Simpson's handbags then about me performing in a combat zone. But that's the truth: we have become much more obsessed with articles in magazines like that, or "What Nicole Richie's Baby Is Wearing!"
However, while her own celebrity has grown exponentially, there appears to be little risk that Griffin will become the type of tabloid fodder she revels in eviscerating in her comedy - not that she would mind that.
For example, when I bring up recent gossip-page headlines about her purported relationship with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Griffin replies: "That's because I call them! It's not because the paparazzi are jumping out of my bushes, it's because I have their phone numbers. I call them and say, 'Guess what? Kathy Griffin was seen with Steve Wozniak last night!' And half the time they say, 'Oh, not you again,' and sometimes they print it.
"And by the way, that's what the A-listers do, too. You think everybody just happens to know when Britney Spears is going to be at a gas station in bare feet. Come on, somebody dropped a dime!"
Griffin had some reassuring words for fans who worry that her newfound fame might also tempt her to dull the devastating attacks on her fellow celebs.
"Trust me, I want to be that person. I would like to lose my edge. I would love to go mainstream. But I am my own worst enemy - I can't keep my fu-ig mouth shut! It's a complete lack of self-control. Believe me, I didn't want to get banned from (ABC talk-show) The View. I liked going on The View - it was fun! But when Barbara Walters starts talking to me about using Astroglide, I have to put that in one of my specials. It's the law."
That inability to self-censor could make for some interesting moments on Thursday when Griffin hosts a Just for Laughs galas, usually the safest and most mainstream of shows at the festival.
"I'm supposed to take that into consideration, and I just want you to know that in my heart of hearts, I'd love to go there and put on a family show," Griffin said. "I'm just telling you that the chances of that are pretty slim. But damn it, I'm going to try. I'm really going to try not to say 'f-kballs,' but I can't promise it."
And while she doesn't want to give away too much, Griffin is promising some culturally specific material in her opening number at the gala, which is being written by multiple-award winning composer and lyricist Marc Shaiman, who is tailoring the lyrics specifically for a Montreal crowd - which isn't always a piece of cake, Griffin said.
"We're still trying to figure out what rhymes with 'René Angelil.' ''
Kathy Griffin hosts the Vidéotron Just for Laughs Gala at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Théâtre St. Denis. Tickets start at $39.50. For tickets and information, go to boxoffice.hahaha.com or call 514-845-2322 or 1-888-244-3155.
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