Exclusive: Kathy Griffin talks Demi Lovato Twitter feud, Grammy win
Comedian Kathy Griffin and singer Demi Lovato made headlines on Tuesday after the stars enganged in a high profile Twitter feud that has the Internet buzzing. In response to a tweet from a fan during a Q&A session on March 25, Griffin named Lovato as her pick for the “biggest douche celebrity,’’ sparking the social media warfare. The battle was taken to a new level when some of Lovato’s Twitter followers started sending Griffin death threats over the social media site.
Griffin, who will be performing in Providence on April 13, spoke with Boston.com over the phone on Wednesday to talk about the recent feud as well as her upcoming East Coast tour.
Boston.com: Okay, so what the heck is going on between you and Demi Lovato?
Kathy Griffin: I’m in the middle of a scandal that is a comedian’s dream come true. Like, if you were ever going to buy the Kathy Griffin show, this is the time.
Boston.com: Do you hold by your stance that Demi is the “biggest douche celebrity’’ out there?
Griffin: Well, first of all, you know, I kind of change my mind on that every day. I mean, the genesis of the whole thing is really what’s being missed here in the story. And what I find amusing is I was playing a game with Siri, and I was actually on DamnYouAutoCorrect.com and I was laughing really hard. And then, I actually tweeted, and you can look it up, the tweet happened, like, March 25th, and I say, “Okay, I’ll do a Q&A, but remember I’m using Siri, so go.’’ Somebody says, “Oh hey, have a Q&A,’’ so I’m like okay, and somebody said something to the effect of who is the douchiest celebrity. And then Siri said “Debbie’’ Lovato, so I thought it was funny, Siri thought I said “Debbie.’’
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The truth is, on any given day, you can ask me who the douchiest celebrity is, and there are so many to choose from that, you know, I might say my own mom tomorrow. I mean, you never know, she’s also a Hollywood starlet. So, this thing has blown up in a way that, honestly, a comedian can only dream of. And, the fact that it’s organic, like it’s nothing that I set out to do, is great. But, I do want to clarify one thing for you as a serious journalist, Matt, there are rumors going around that I deleted the tweet, and I want you to know I would never do that. And I absolutely did not delete any of my tweets. And, in fact, Twitter has confirmed malfunctioning yesterday, where Twitter admitted that they deleted a whole bunch of tweets, including the infamous selfie Bradley Cooper took at the Academy Awards. So, it’s actually very important to me as a comedian to know the last thing I would do is like tweet something and then go like, “Oh, I went too far.’’ There aren’t enough hours in the day for me to try to police myself on times when someone, a celebrity out there, may think I went too far.
Boston.com: Regarding that point, do you feel that comedians should ever apologize for one of their jokes?
Griffin: I don’t mean to be too artsy fartsy but it is my business. I’m not the word police. I am the type of comedian that gets in big Hollywood trouble and I would classify this as Hollywood trouble because nobody’s really in jail – yet. Some of those gals that responded to me could go to jail, but I’m not going to. But anyways, it’s really important to me that comedians are allowed to say what they feel. You know?
What’s funny to me is, I started doing this Q&A, and if you go back and look at it, some of the questions were like, I think somebody asked via Twitter, obviously kidding, “What celebrity would you want to kick in the nuts?’’ And I was still using Siri and I said Mel Gibson, but Siri thought I said Bob Gibson. So I’m like, nobody knows who Bob Gibson is, so I corrected it and I wrote Mel Gibson. I mean, I made a joke that I wanted to kick Mel Gibson in the nuts. Obviously, I’m not going to kick anyone in the nuts, I have never done anything like that. But what’s funny to me is, no Mel Gibson army came after me online and said, “I’m going to come to your house and shove a machine gun up you’re a** because you made a joke about our beloved Mel Gibson.’’ Also, I think it’s pretty clear that nobody is really getting kicked in the nuts. So, I could also go on with like 25 other people that, jokingly, I would be happy to kick in the nuts.
Boston.com: Were you surprised by the backlash you received from Demi Lovato fans on Twitter? I even received some heat online after you tweeted me back.
Griffin: Oh my goodness, you heard from the Lovatics?
Boston.com: I did, I received a couple tweets.
Griffin: I really encourage you to keep them because they are quite amusing. I’ve been making fun of celebrities and politicians. You don’t hear about this when you make fun of Chris Christie, like, I don’t know if the Chris Christotics or, I don’t really know what his fan base is called, or the Bachmanites, or, you know, the Ryan Seacrestinas. But I also thought it was funny when people were actually tweeting, accusing me of falsifying tweets, so I’m actually sort of relieved you got some. I’m sorry to say that. But, when I’m getting #KathyPleaseSlitYourF***ingThroat, #KathyImGoingToStickYouInTheOvenAndKillYou, you know, as a comedian, you’re always happy when you’re given a gift that you don’t have to embellish in any way. So, now you understand, these were very much real.
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Then, Demi Lovato herself actually posted a selfie she took that I didn’t know about when we were both at an event called iHeartRadio, and I was presenting Swedish House Mafia. I saw her backstage and I saw her taking a bunch of selfies, and I remember thinking, oh, that’s the kids today at their concerts. We were watching Rihanna and I remember thinking, gosh, some of these young people they go to concerts and they’re so busy taking selfies, they’re not like enjoying the experience, and Rihanna was giving a great performance. Little did I know, she was taking a selfie where she was including a picture of me in the background, making like a sour face, and then retaining it in her phone for two years. So when she herself posted that, you know, like I didn’t think it was the coolest thing to do with her 21 million followers, some of whom seem to be rather rabid.
Boston.com: On to something more positive, recently, you took home your first Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album after being nominated six years in a row. How was that experience?
Griffin: I feel that the title of that particular CD, which is called “Calm Down Gurrl,’’ really applies to yesterday’s situation. I actually named it that because I feel that, as a nation, we all kind of need to calm down girl and just relax and lighten up, really kind of prioritize things. Anyways, that was so exciting to, obviously, even attend the Grammy’s and, to finally win after six years of bitter, bitter loss, was heaven. And I acted a fool. I mean, you can see it on YouTube, I was hopping over the seats at the Nokia Theatre, and I was so terrified that they weren’t there, because, out of the six winners, it would say, so and so isn’t here, the podium accepts on their behalf. And I just want you to know, the podium was not going to accept on my behalf that day, damn it! So I was running in my high heels, like just the tragic drag queen that I am. Just running and running and running to get that Grammy. And also, the first female to win Best Comedy Album since 1986 had a real significance to me. I’m so grateful and very, very happy for it to join my two Emmys!
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Boston.com: Speaking of your Emmys, you’re now half way to an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). Is that something you ever think about or even want to pursue?
Griffin: I’m an EG looking for an OT.
Boston.com: Before I let you go, you’ll be heading to Providence and other East Coast cities this month. For comedy fans who may not be familiar with your work, what can they expect from your show?
Griffin: Well, they should keep an open mind, and they should expect a lot of cursing and negativity. Nothing is off the table, so no one is safe. We’ll be talking about whatever is going on. My act is highly improvisational, there are some things that I think I’m going to say that night in Providence, and then I might change my mind that day. Or, something could happen in Providence that day. Or, I could have some crazy, celebrity run-in, obviously like this whole Demi Lovato situation that happened yesterday, if I was in Providence tonight, I would talk about that. I’ll talk about whatever is going on in pop culture, politics, you know, I might have to talk about my mom, Maggie, who’s 93 years old and halfway through a glass of wine right now. People love to hear about her. I’m asking the audience to keep an open mind and just know, it’s not a night to bring the kids. It’s not the Blue Man Group or “Mama Mia!’’, it’s a night of profanity and vulgarity and, hopefully, lots and lots of laughs.
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