Some consider her outrageous, while others consider her annoying. Both are descriptions Kathy Griffin graciously accepts as testaments to her successful career as a comedian. Both have earned her massive amounts of attention, criticism and praise, as well as her very own Emmy-nominated reality series on Bravo, My Life on the D-List.

AfterElton.com recently caught up with the gay-friendly stand-up comic to discuss her opinions on the war in Iraq, why she isn't afraid of making AIDS jokes, and why she loves Ellen DeGeneres even if DeGeneres doesn't seem to love her.

Kathy Griffin photo by Suzette Troche-Stapp
aka "the glitterguru" www. glitterguru.com

AE: What's your take on the whole Isaiah Washington calling T.R. Knight a faggot controversy?
Kathy Griffin: I think it's hilarious that you can go to rehab for saying the F-word. I mean, what is it? A bunch of queens screaming at him? Saying, ''Oh, girl, no you didn't!" I just think that is funny. I mean, I think it is a good thing. You can't be calling someone a fag at work and stuff. Unless you're gay — in that case, have at it.

AE: How do you feel about people coming to Washington's defense?
KG: I don't know. I've only heard that Melissa Etheridge's wife [Tammy Lynn Michaels] sort of defended [him]. And, by the way, I read that in The Enquirer, so it's true! I guess she and Melissa are friends with him. I guess they've had him over for dinner with his kids or something, and she was like, 'Well, he never used that word around me.' I was like, 'Well, yeah, he's not gonna use it around you.'

I will tell you this: I think when you're a serious actor on a big show like that [Grey's Anatomy], I think you do have to watch what you say. I think you will offend people and hurt people.

If he was a comedian, I would defend his right to say anything, any word, anytime. Because I do believe that when you are a comedian on stage, you can say anything anytime. If it's not funny, believe me, they let you know. But I don't believe in any censorship when it comes to comedy.

AE: Is there anything you won't joke about?
KG: You know, there's nothing anymore. When I started out, I would say, "My rule was no cancer, no AIDS." Then I met so many AIDS sufferers and people with cancer, and I learned no one would tell an AIDS or cancer joke faster then an AIDS or cancer patient.

So I try stuff all the time. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. That's really my gauge. Is it entertaining? Is it funny? Or is it not? I'm not going to be outrageous just to be outrageous. If the audience isn't laughing, then I'm going to move on. I'm not going to be safe because I'm scared to say something. I think that's the great thing about doing stand-up — you get those answers right away. I would rather have the audience dictate what they like rather than me start a show with a preconceived notion of "I am not allowed to make fun of these topics."

AE: You've also, regrettably, lost a few jobs because of your comedic talents.
KG: Or "big fat mouth."

AE: No, no.
KG: But that's exactly the trade-off. It's so ironic that the things I got fired for on the E! channel, like making inappropriate jokes, are the things I do on my Broadway show, and I got nominated for an Emmy. So I'm constantly trying to decide: Should I pull back? Yet for me personally, I can't. I just don't know how. But I sort of thank God I'm a comedian, because I really don't have to pull back. Yeah, I'll get fired sometimes. But I'm not going to go to jail for some of the stuff I say.

AE: Don't go to Iraq.
KG: Yeah, exactly! A couple of years ago, I might go to jail. But I think things are turning a little bit more liberal now that people hate Bush so much, which is great!

Michael Richards did a really stupid thing when he lost his s--- on stage screaming the N-word. It was a bad call, and it wasn't funny. He lost it. I don't know if he was just crazy or trying to be funny or racist or everything combined. [But] we do have the right to say those things. And audience members have the right to say, 'Buh-bye.' Or they have the right to go, "This is OK."

I really saw things change during this administration. And what I loved was during the Clinton years, you could make all the Clinton jokes you wanted. Then after 9/11, I'm telling you, you couldn't even make the most mild anti-Bush joke. People would literally freak out and leave the club and storm out. I'm like, "I'm allowed to make fun of the president." Luckily those things are turning back. Some of us are coming to our senses.

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