In a wide-ranging interview with PrideSource, the always quotable Sandra Bernhard talks extensively about Roseanne‘s support of Trump, the historical impact of her bisexual character, Nancy, and what plans she has for upcoming seasons of the reboot. But it’s when she goes OFF on Kathy Griffin that things get REALLY interesting.
Did you think Kathy Griffin went too far with the picture of her holding Trump’s decapitated head?
It’s not about going too far – it just wasn’t funny, and she’s not political. Why is she suddenly jumping on the bandwagon? That’s not what she does. And it wasn’t smart enough or interesting enough. That was its biggest crime.
Mixing politics and comedy is a thin line, but Kathy Griffin has been politically engaged and an activist for the gay community.
She’s an activist? I don’t know. I don’t think she’s an activist, frankly. I mean, that’s – she certainly takes advantage of the gay population in her way, but I don’t think she’s done anything earth-shattering for … I mean, I don’t agree.
Who would you consider an entertainer and an activist?
I mean, I’m an activist for being a human being. There’s bigger fish to fry, and my work is inherently political, and it’s been inherently LGBTQ-informed because it’s who I am; it’s what I’ve done from the beginning. I don’t call my audience “my gays.” My audience is my audience and everybody in it forms an alliance every night. You perform for the entire crowd – it’s not about singling anyone out. And if your work is very, very daring and interesting, then smart people come to it, whether they’re gay, straight, black, white, men, women. I mean, you gotta be able to get underneath what’s really going on culturally, and then you’re always gonna have a smart audience sitting in front of you.
As always, she does not hold back.
Read the whole interview here.
(Photos: Pacific Coast News)
