Friday, March 13, 2015

The Truth About Kathy Griffin's 'Fashion Police' Exit



The only thing worse than Joan Rivers' unnecessary death is having to agree with Piers Morgan about something -- but come on, people. 


In addition to the hypocrisy of it all, what Kathy also isn't copping to is the fact that her age-old "Mean Girls" vendetta against former best pal Tony Tripoli -- who was Rivers' right-hand man and the show's hilarious head writer -- led her to get him SHITCANNED the second she joined the fold. (You may recall Tripoli and Dennis Hensley as Griffin's gay BFFs and joke writers she used to hang out with at Chevys Fresh Mex in the Valley on season one of "My Life on the D-List.") With Tripoli ousted, Griffin then reportedly refused to put in any work on the show. While Rivers is said to have had about 20 jokes written and at the ready for every situation, Griffin apparently thought she could waltz in and "wing it" and she simply BOMBED. (It's not about being mean, it's about being funny.) Tired of looking like a hack on a high-profile weekly show and left with no one to bail her out -- a product of her own making -- she decided to walk. That's the real reason she's leaving, not because of some sudden desire to help "women, gay kids, people of color and anyone who feels underrepresented." In her own way, she was already doing that.


Fashion backward


WATCH: Tony Tripoli (and Dennis Hensley) helped write jokes for Kathy's Oscars red carpet gig on E! -- they were by far the funniest ones of the night -- and exactly the kind of "well-timed barbs" Kathy described in her resignation. (Skip to 16:00.)

Maybe if she hadn't been so petty, they could have made it work. Few people know Kathy's style better than Tripoli, so he might have been the perfect person to adapt the show to her voice. But why actually stop being mean when it's so much easier to pat yourself on the back for wanting to not be mean instead?


The fact that Griffin is now soliciting praise from other celebrities doesn't speak well of her motives, either. And that Chelsea Handler -- whom I adore but who makes fun of people's bodies all the time -- and Kelly Osbourne -- who has benefited from the show's success as much as anyone -- are two of the people voicing their support for her is borderline ridiculous.


UPDATE: TMZ is reporting a source says she was about to be fired and resigned to save face, which supports my "she was a disaster" hypothesis, not that she wants to be the new Perez Hilton as she claims.

UPDATE 2: Kathy discusses the fallout of her leaving and I commend her for saying THIS.


UPDATE 3: I think Andy Cohen just summed it up best, after saying it was the "pot calling the kettle black"
 "I just think if it wasn't working, say it wasn't working but don't make it about body shaming. ... I think she's hilarious when she makes fun of Renee Zellweger and Oprah and my crossed eyes."

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is the only thing I've read about this whole fiasco that makes sense! Thank you Kenneth!

Why did KG have a falling out with Tony Tripoli? It's especially bizarre considering how supposedly close Joan was to both KG & TT.

MarkfromNYC said...

I am COMPLETELY with you on this. KG has really effed up this time. What is this nonsense about??? And what about throwing poor Giuliana Rancic under the bus -- first by celebrity-kid-made-good Osbourne and now by Kathy??? I have been such a loyal, loving fan of KG, but no more. Because, at the end of the day, we're the ones who are getting sh!tcanned. We want our Kathy being nasty and calling a spade a spade. And we're not getting it so that she can, what? Carry out vendettas and support transgendered orphaned kittens. This is what happens when you start believing your own hype, and Zendaya.

outview said...

Thank You. I have been sitting on this info for months. I have gradually let little things out. Kathy ruined the show and she claims to love Joan so much? She Dissed her!

Anonymous said...

I'm with you, Ken!
Bob K

Unknown said...

Unfortunately there was a gut feeling this Titanic would sink after the unfortunate demise of Joan.
The antics of Ms. Osborne assisted in ignited the bomb. I'm sure George is glad he is away from the wreckage and safely on-board the Carphatia.

Rivers of No Return said...

Joan didn't have 20 jokes on hand for every outfit- she had writers produce hundreds of jokes , paid them outrageously low sums of money for it and fired and publicly insulted anyone asking for their fair due.


EDITOR'S RESPONSE: I didn't say Joan was to be commended for the way she went about it. But I am saying she was fully prepared with jokes, unlike Kathy, and it sounds like you are backing my assertion.