Barney Frank Slams Kathy Griffin For Calling Scott Brown’s Daughters “Prostitutes”

[JI7]

Source: mediaite

In an official letter to Griffin, Frank chastised the comedian for the remark. “I think it’s possible to have fun, and even to poke fun at people in my businesses, without this kind of completely unfair attack,” wrote Frank.

Frank is also featured in the show, which was part of the reason he felt “compelled to comment”:

Since you did include me in that show I wanted to make it very clear that I thought what you did was wholly unfair and inappropriate. It’s the kind of thing that makes it less likely that I or others can cooperate with you in the future.

This bipartisan denouncement doesn’t signal anything more than agreement about a stupid comment, but it is interesting that it was Frank specifically who spoke out. The Boston Globe reports Griffin waded into potentially offensive territory during the episode with Frank as well, saying of the Congressman, “He doesn’t know when ‘American Idol’ is on? He doesn’t care about Liza Minnelli? How is this guy even gay?” (via Newsbusters).

Read more: http://www.mediaite.com/online/barney-frank-slams-kathy-griffin-for-calling-scott-browns-daughters-prostitutes/

[ixion]

1. LOL... playing right into her hands... just like the Seinfeld episode

:rofl:

[rzemanfl]

2. She is just lashing out because Levi dumped her-she needs

time to heal.... I am sure she can come up with jokes about a tall girl who wears seashells for a bra and the one who was on Idol, without accusing them of being prostitutes, once she gets her mojo back. I think saying one's daughters are "available" is like waving a red cape in front on a heartbroken D- list comic.

Just in case anyone takes this seriously :sarcasm:

[JustAnotherGen]

3. Eh?

I say good for Barney Frank. He probably doesn't appreciate his sexuality being picked at either. Aha - there you go. I find Democratic and Liberal men (for the most part) to not be lacking a 'sensitivity chip'. That's what I would expect - from a male in my political affiliation. Feisty? Yes. Full of piss and vinegar? Yes. But most important? A Gentleman through and through.

[Fearless]

4. +1

[Cirque du So-What]

5. If Kathy Griffin is such a 'friend of the gay community'

why did she tell a heckler that she doesn't 'come to where he works and slap the dicks out of his mouth' as though it was the ultimate insult?

[Book Lover]

6. That's actually a really old stand up response to hecklers (nm)

[Cirque du So-What]

9. That may well be

but I would expect something less insulting to members of the gay community from one who purports to be one of their most fervent defenders.

[blue_onyx]

25. How is it an insult?

[boppers]

29. Because everybody who's gay is a male prostitute, of course

:sarcasm:

[SunnySong]

28. It's not really a "gay" insult per se. nt

[Ian David]

33. She's used the same joke on women as well. It's one of her standard go-to lines. n/t

[slampoet]

39. Sorry, but that comeback is a heckler-killer classic that is 80+ years old.

[slampoet]

40. oops

[Oregone]

7. She's and idiot "comedian"....

Really....she is worthy of a Senator's consideration?

[MurrayDelph]

8. Barney Frank is a good man

but he does fulfill the definition of what I have heard defined as "stick-up-the-butt Liberal"

[Octafish]

36. Scott Brown first brought up the idea.

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/celebrity/news/scott-brown-victory-speech

[izquierdista]

10. There's a shark somewhere

Looking up to see Kathy Griffin's ass flying by.

[Yeahyeah]

11. Nice to see Senators and Congressmen dealing to what's really important.

What Kathy Griffin says.

[dencol]

24. In the meantime, my UI benefits are about to lapse.

n/t

[Bette Noir]

12. Sorry, but Frank has demonstrated more than once that he has no sense of humor.

He also hates Stephen Colbert.

As for the "prostitute" comment? IT WAS A JOKE! Or do you expect someone whose tag line is "Suck it, Jesus!" to be a model of decorum?

[BuddhaGirl]

19. he was gruff and humorless when she was in his office

she was friendly - he didn't even stand up behind his desk when she entered, and barely reached out his hand to shake hers. Hubby and I were, "wtf?"

she's a comedian for chrissake LOL

[LostinVA]

21. I was just going to post this!

And, I mean it when I say that I think she's a better LGBT ally than HE is.

[CBHagman]

57. Barney Frank has no sense of humor?

He's one of the wittiest members of Congress. His addressing serious issues does not preclude his having a sense of humor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYlZiWK2Iy8

[U4ikLefty]

13. Prostitutes object as well.

[Speciesamused]

14. Lighten Up Barney, I thought you where for legalization?

It is comedy Yo. What are you waiting for them to legalize?
Kathy Griffin is funny and she will cut you up....

Here she is with Levi Johnston, Playgirl centerfold and Sara Palin's daughter's baby daddy.

[AngryOldDem]

15. Now, now Barney....

...where's your sense of humor? Not to mention respect for Freedom of Speech?

:sarcasm:

[dmosh42]

35. And he knows about being a prostitute! n/t

[October]

16. Scott Brown is the guy who told an audience his daughter(s) were available, no?

So, he's attacking Griffin? A Comedienne?

[ChiTownChavista]

58. He's a whore

his cracker girls are whores by default.

[Botany]

17. Psst! Barney she means to shock and offend

n/t

[Po_d Mainiac]

18. It's an Assachussetts thingy......n/t

[NutmegYankee]

27. The Massholes strike again!

;)

[Missy Vixen]

20. It's unfortunate that Barney Frank's sense of humor was surgically removed

Nice to know he's got nothing else that desperately needs attention right now besides taking a chunk out of Kathy Griffin.

In the meantime, talk about your "red flag in front of a bull" situation. He's going to wish he never tangled with her.

Still Team Kathy. Repeal DADT now.

[bahrbearian]

22. I don't know if Scott Browns daughters are Prostitues or not.

But he sure wants to pimp them.

[CBGLuthier]

23. Doesn't Obama have two daughters?

I have two daughters. I think Kathy Griffin is a waste of space and possibly the most unfunny comedian in history.

[blue_onyx]

26. And yet you cared enough to comment on her

I love Kathy...she is hilarious.

[CBGLuthier]

43. No didn't comment on her. Commented on her not being funny and her tackiness.

attention seeking waste of space I should have said.

There, that took 30 seconds of my life that I felt I could spare. OK with that sunshine?

[LostinVA]

44. She said it on her TV show, snd she is s HUGE GLBT ally

You may not like her, but she isn't a "easte of space."

[snooper2]

49. "No didn't comment on her. Commented on her"

So did you or didn't you comment on her? :rofl:

[JerseygirlCT]

47. I'm really surprised by the responses here

So, perhaps because Brown is a Republican, perhaps because he made a pretty lame joke himself, it's ok to try to make a joke out of calling his daughter's prostitutes? Really?

Unless politicians' kids get into the spotlight themselves (Liz Cheney, I'm talking to you), then they really ought to be off-limits. Especially when those kids are still kids

[Ignis]

55. Obviously, you've never had to watch a Dennis Miller routine.

[alp227]

30. Was that really necessary?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/16/scott-brown-kathy-griffin_n_648903.html

On Griffin's reality show, "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List," she was shown a picture of the Senator and described him as "Scott Brown, who is a senator from Massachusetts and has two daughters that are prostitutes." Her quip was followed by an onscreen message that read "And now a brief message from Bravo's Legal Team: Scott Brown's daughters ARE NOT prostitutes. We now return you to our regularly scheduled negativity."

I don't know. I just don't know. But I support Frank and don't really have a good impression of Griffin. No wonder Griffin titles her show "Life on the D-List". Why was Dana Bash laughing? Because it'd be awkward for her to have a negative reaction? (That's un-feminine right there.)

[Arkana]

31. Kathy Griffin should really STFU--she's so pissed about Levi that she's

getting involved in shit she has no business getting involved in.

[mitchum]

32. Barney is a little...uh...touchy...about the subject of prostitution. Ask Stephen Gobie

[soleft]

34. And Barney Frank knows about prostitutes

[UTUSN]

37. Barney's got governmentitis, like McGREEVEY on The View, when

he stumbled around for words, and Joy or somebody said, "You talk like a politician. You need to say what you mean!1" or somesuch.

[and-justice-for-all]

38. Like Kathy gives a shit...nt

[slampoet]

41. Kathy Griffin will be dating Barney Frank in 5...., 4.....3,........2......

[gauguin57]

42. I saw that episode of "D-list." It was totally a joke (about Brown's daughters).

Kathy was actually making fun of herself ... "Washington power couple" John King and Dana Bash (whom Kathy says are friends of hers) were quizzing her about the workings of Congress (when she went down to lobby against Don't Ask Don't Tell), and Kathy was answering in a silly way, acting as if she didn't know anything. Bash and King were throwing out names, and she was making little jokes about them ... and the joke about Brown was clearly a jab at him pimping out his daughters on national TV when he won the Senate race.

Barney. Lighten up, man. It's a comedy show. Kathy also called James Clymer a "big queen," just goofing around. She's a foul-mouthed comic who makes her living making fun of famous people. What does anyone expect?

[LostinVA]

52. Exactly -- I said that upthread

Not ONE article I've seen on this "outrage" has mentioned the context.

[LostinVA]

45. Not one article has given the context of her statement

It wa son her show, a candid comedy, and she wa son The Hill to do some "Repeal DADT" work and attend a rally with Dan Choi. Both John King and Dana Bush from CNN and some of the HRC folks prepped her on how to act and what to say when she gave interviews and spoke to members of Congress during her time in DC. This comment was shown as something one SHOULDN'T say, and the punch of the joke was that Brown himself had said to a room of people that his daughters "were available" for them, which was commented on at the time as a weird and creepy thing for time to say. She was parodying his OWN WORDS. His daughters are both college students, just so people know he was appearing to whore out his grown daughters.

KG also met with Frank, and he really is a humorless grump. I was really surprised by that.

Kathy has done a huge amount of work for GLBTs and liberal causes, so I won't slag her at all. This whole mountain-out-of-a-molehill episode shows how she touches a nerve, and that she is more important than just a sometimes-crass comedian with a Bravo show.

Posters can 100% have their own opinion of her where her talent is concerned, but saying she's useless or a waste of space is ridiculous, as she has done alot of good work. Oh, and the "fame whoreness" of her show is the WHOLE POINT. It's the pitch of the show.

[JerseygirlCT]

46. Seems a pretty obvious distinction to me

Frank understands that as a public figure, he's going to be up for comment, and to be made fun of.

But he objects to using a politician's *children* in that way.

And he's absolutely right.

[TommyO]

51. Scott Brown's kids are adults and shilled for their father during the campaign.

[JerseygirlCT]

53. I thought they were still in their teens...

I could be wrong, but it sure looked like that.

Were they out campaigning, or just standing by to look adoringly at their dad?

[TommyO]

54. Post campaign, but this gives you an idea

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/18/scott-browns-daughters-send-e-mail-soliciting-donations/

[yurbud]

48. what's great is he knows what he is doing: keeping the story alive and possibly making it bigger

Like the old story about LBJ telling his campaign manager to spread a rumor that his opponent had sex with horses.

The campaign manager protested that it was untrue (hard to believe these days I know).

LBJ responded, ''I know, but I want to see him deny it.''

[Javaman]

50. Just more feigned indignation by the paragons of morals and ethics. nt

[Old Troop]

56. Good for Barnie!