Comic Kathy Griffin took some time on her YouTube channel today (October 28, 2017) to lock and unload on TMZ founder, Harvey Levin and Real Housewives executive producer Andy Cohen. Her critique was a response to a TMZ interview with Cohen in which he was asked about replacing Griffin on CNN’s New Year’s special with Anderson Cooper. Cohen pulled a Mariah Carey and repeatedly responded, “I don’t know her.”
Cohen of course knows Griffin well, not only for her appearances on this talk show, “Watch What Happens Live,” but also because her Grammy-winning show, “My Life on the D List,” was A Bravo production. Things, however, have been frosty between Griffin and Cohen for a while, starting around the time of her awkward exit from “The Fashion Police” in March 2016.
Griffin kicks off the video by replaying a Levin voice mail, leaving the cameras rolling when he asks her to call him and provides his number. She then goes on to describe Cohen as a miserable boss and alleged that Cohen offered her coke prior to appearing on his talk show. She noted that Levin and Cohen “live to take women down,” and consistently present women in a poor light, adding that Levin is a Republican who speaks to Trump on a weekly basis.
At one point, Griffin asked, “Harvey Levin, have you ever done anything honorable ever?” (which, fair question!) adding, “Your TV show is such bullshit…..and yet in our private conversations you’re no different than a straight-up deplorable. Like, you’re the gay male version of Kellyanne Conway.”
In an interesting aside, Griffin a recalled a conversation with Gloria Steinem, asking her which reality show was more damaging for women, the Real Housewives or Kardashian franchise. According to Griffin, Steinem responded without hesitation, “Oh the Housewives by far, at least on the Kardashians they show inter-racial relationships.
In the video, Griffin also detailed her travails since posting an image of herself holding a bloodied mask of a beheaded Donald Trump that landed her on a no fly list for two months.
She’s currently on her “Laugh Your Head Off”global tour, which no doubt fed into the timing for the critique.
Besides the on-point critique of how sexist and ageist TMZ is, the 17-minute video is an intriguing inside look at all the behind-the-scenes shittery involved in being a major celebrity.
Check out Griffin’s video below.
