The USO presents VH1 Divas Salute the Troops was hosted by Kathy Griffin.
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ - This year VH1 is giving the "Divas" franchise a military makeover by partnering with the USO to bring the iconic event to America's troops and their families. Drawing from the tone of the original USO shows and using Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar in San Diego as home base, this year's "VH1 Divas Salute The Troops" show will be a unique and uplifting version of VH1's high profile signature event. Katy Perry, Sugarland, Keri Hilson and Nicki Minaj will perform in front of thousands of men and women in uniform at MCAS Miramar. Taking the effort overseas to thank troops serving in remote locations, Paramore will visit Marines, soldiers, airmen, sailors, coastguardsmen and reservists stationed at an undisclosed military base in the Middle East. The USO Presents "VH1 Divas Salute The Troops" premieres on Sunday, December 5 at 9:00 PM ET/PT on VH1.
A few of Griffin's jokes didn't go over too well with the troops.
Making fun of Bristol Palin's weight earned Griffin boos.
Video.
Transcript
KATHY GRIFFIN: Let's talk about Dancing with the Stars, Dancing with the Stars. Yes, yes. We're gonna talk it out. We got two words: Bristol Palin. Yeah, that's right. Come on, come on. You're gonna like this. She's the only contestant in the history of the show to actually gain weight.
(Boos)
No, come on. Come on. She gained like 30 pounds a week. I swear to God. It was fantastic. She's like the white Precious. She's like the white Precious.
(Boos)
You can boo louder than that. Come on, boo me. I love it. I love it. War is hell. War is hell.
To clarify: "Actress Gabourey Sidibe played the role of 'Precious,' a 350-pound black woman in the hit Lee Daniels film which was released last year."
Griffin prefaced the joke with "You're gonna like this."
Obviously, the troops didn't.
From E!:
So the comedian attacked a conservative teenage mom at an event honoring both women and the U.S. military? Way to know her audience.
"The audience's reaction to this ‘comedian' spoke volumes, and the decent people I know would probably have booed her, too," Bristol said in a statement to Fox News' Pop Tarts blog. "I hope people didn't have to pay money to hear her negativity and criticisms."
VH1 didn't comment, but Fox heard that producers considered editing Kathy's crack out of the show, which taped Friday and aired Sunday, but decided a little on-camera controversy wouldn't hurt...the ratings.
It was a cheap shot for Griffin to mock Bristol's weight, especially given Griffin's history of body image issues and what looks like her dependence on plastic surgery.
Just last year, the “Suddenly Susan” star admitted that she fell prey to some serious body image issues while seeking out her “big break” in Hollywood. Not only did Griffin get a nose job at the age of 26 in an attempt to improve her appearance, in addition to liposuction that she claims almost killed her, she also reportedly exercised obsessively, starved herself during the day and binged at night.
Having experienced the pain and pressure of show business first-hand, might one think Griffin would be a little mores sensitive to such issues?
“It is quite surprising, given her own experience," [body image expert and author of Love Your Body Love Your Life, Sarah] Maria said. "One would hope that her own difficulties would awaken a sensitivity, understanding, and compassion regarding the difficulties of body weight and image in today’s culture."
Griffin show compassion and sensitivity?
That's a joke.
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