We’ve done a splendid job of allowing pretty much anyone to claim that they are a victim who should be sympathized with in this society.
From armed robbers who steal money “just because they need to feed their children,” to fall-down-drunks who leave behind them an endless trail of human suffering who “can’t help themselves because they have a disease,” everyone is to be coddled, understood, and swathed into the bosom of society as we let out a loud, and in unison, “dawwwwwwwwwww.”
Colin Kaepernick gets this type of despicable treatment daily amongst wide swaths of our culture, which we have documented here endlessly. The narrative is simple; he’s not playing in the NFL today because he’s been blackballed by NFL owners who want to punish the “boy of color,” for stepping out of line. (Even though Eric Reid who was equally as defiant and also sued the league, has returned and is making millions while also being African American). Kaepernick’s lack of employment, so it goes, has nothing to do with his lack of talent, diminishing ability to play in the NFL years ago when he was on his way out, and/or the choices he made to alienate at least half of the NFL’s fan base. It can’t be any of those things. After all, if it was, it would be a case of two of the most reviled things in America today; personal responsibility, and a pure and simple lack of talent. In a country where we hold no one accountable and never tell anyone they aren’t good enough, those two things are not allowed to be uttered no matter how obvious they are to so many.
Enter Kathy Griffin.
WHO? So many of you ask.
Kathy Griffin is a female “comedian,” (a term I use begrudgingly and loosely) probably best known to most people as the annoying and awful co-host of Anderson’s Cooper’s New Year’s Eve Countdown shows from 2007-2017. Some may remember perhaps the only funny thing she ever did on television, which occurred in 1998, when she played Jerry’s nemesis Sally Weaver on a famous episode of “Seinfeld.” Other than that, you know her as the red head who posted an image of herself in 2017 on social media with a severed head of President Trump (which led to her termination from the aforementioned New Year’s Eve show and pretty much all of her other pending gigs).
Now, why is that?
God knows President Trump is not universally beloved. Many other celebrities, including Bette Midler, Snoop Dog, Robert Deniro, Barbara Streisand, Mark Ruffalo, Rosie O’Donnell, Madonna, and Johnny Depp, have either overtly threatened the president, or posted violent images depicting his suffering or death, or imagined it aloud. It’s simply the day and age we live in, like or not.
You’ll notice that all of the previously mentioned celebrities, save Griffin, are still actively and viably working at whatever level they choose. And yet, last week Kathy Griffin, in a television interview, had the audacity to claim the following while previously discussing the Trump head incident):
“I still do not have one single day of paid work ahead of me for the rest of my life,…Now you tell me that’s not because I’m a 58-year-old female in comedy…working in a male dominated field is something where I deal with that sort of thing every day.”
During this, one of the newscasters on set, meteorologist Mark Kriski, interjected that “there’s a lot of 58-year-old comedians that are working out there,” at which point I have to believe his producer began shouting “stand down!” in his ear as Griffin bit back “Name five women,” and Kriski slunk away, clearly knowing his career was in the balance if he continued to challenge the notion that the reason this wonderfully talented female comedian wasn’t working was the result of anything other than men holding women down.
Of course, that’s a shame, since he was absolutely on point and the reason Griffin isn’t working is very simple; she’s not, and never has been, overly talented, beloved, funny, or valuable. And now that she’s soiled her brand to half the nation, she’s toxic, and given her lack of talent and appeal, she’s simply not worth the risk.
Madonna? Yeah, she can still sell out stadiums and wish death on Trump. Streisand, Midler, O’Donnell, their fan bases are large and loyal enough to keep them employed. Sorry, Kathy…life sucks, and so do you.
So what about her challenge of naming five (58 year old) female comedians working today?
Wanda Sykes is 55 and HATES President Trump. She just recently had a (Trump bashing) Netflix special and wrapped up a nationwide comedy tour. Close enough?
NO? Ok, would an older woman who made $20 million for one stand-up special last year count? She happens to be 61, so she’s three years older than 58 (balancing out Sykes being three years younger)…oh, and she hosts one of the most popular shows on TV…it’s called ELLEN. She’s no trump supporter, either.
52 year-old Leslie Jones just left SNL for multiple projects, 50 year-old Samantha Bee hosts a weekly trump-bashing talk show, and 50 year-old Trump hater Margaret Cho is currently touring America and selling out venues.
And then there’s a pretty impressive list of women who, like Ellen and Bee, started in stand-up comedy and could easily return to that stage in a heartbeat if they wanted. Either way, they’re all gainfully employed in a male dominated industry and not one of them is a Trump supporter; 58 year-old Julia louis Dreyfus, 63 year-old Whoopi Goldberg, and 60 year-old Megan Mullally all fit that description.
So, what has Ms. Griffin taught us? She has reminded us that losers whine, and they always find excuses for their own shortcomings and demise that have nothing to do with the actual reason which is almost always squarely at their feet. Unlike Griffin, every other similarly aged woman listed is talented, wanted, and has a large enough group of fans and followers that they will pay money to see, watch, and enjoy them. And, like Griffin, many of them, have very vocally criticized Trump.
You aren’t working for a very simple reason, Kathy, and it has nothing to do with your gender or your politics. It’s because no one likes you, Including, quite obviously, you.
