Just caught this this morning on Snopes. I didn’t catch the story as it rolled off the lot, because I would rather French-kiss the condenser grille for my refrigerator than watch the Emmys, so forgive me if this is old news to any/everyone. It’s new to me. If not exactly news.

As Executive Producer and star of the series, Kathy Griffin accepted the Emmy won by the show. Her remarks upon receiving the award were: “Now, look, a lot of people come up here and they thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus. He didn’t help me a bit. If it was up to him, Cesar Millan would be up here with that damn dog. So all I can say is suck it Jesus, this award is my God now.”

As might be expected, she is catching a—ahem—holy shitload of negative publicity about this.

Now, I don’t personally care for Kathy Griffin. I find her comedy annoying, her escapades tiresome, and her apparently massive popularity in certain gay circles totally perplexing. On the other hand, I really have to give her credit for not backpedaling after everyone started bleeding from the eyes over her comments, the way so many public figures seem to. I think she struck exactly the right note with her replies to all the hullaballoo; after all, does anyone think that the hard-core God-fearing segment of the populace was going to be spending any money on tickets for her next tour anyway? Or watching reruns of her Bravo program, “My Life on the D-List”? (Does anyone?) Fact is, her fan base is likely about as devoutly Christian as that of Marilyn Manson, so she has nothing to lose by standing up to them.

So good on ya, Kathy! Though it’s kind of sad to think that in the celebrity spine department, it’s basically down to you and the Dixie Chicks.