Kathy Griffin On Her Pedophile Brother, Jack Black's 'Shifty Eyes' and Dating Quentin Tarantino
Kathy Griffin mastered the formula for a successful autobiography launch years before she wrote her first page: equal parts steamy details and shameless publicity. And with her shrewdly titled autobiography Official Book Club Selection hitting bookshelves today, the My Life on the D-List star recently upped her ante by publicly discussing subjects even she, the queen of inappropriate disclosure, had not spoken openly about until now.
Last week, Griffin name-dropped bulimia and speed to pique the public's interest in her memoir. In a new interview with Entertainment Tonight's Mark Steines, Griffin discusses a few aspects of her life that might finally clinch that coveted invitation to Oprah's couch.
Opening up about her older brother Kenny:
"My brother Kenny who is now passed away and was a pedophile and went to prison and obviously wreaked a lot of havoc on my parents and the family...had an extremely profound impact on me. Maybe in some ways, the most influential relationship of my life. Meaning, when you grow up in a house with someone with that, I don't know if you call it energy, but he was violent. I saw him beat his wife right in front of me. You know, he was a pedophile. He was extremely sexually inappropriate with me ever since I was a teeny kid. It kind of shapes the way you see the world. For me, it is definitely tied into my trust issues I have with guys. [...] In a way, it maybe even contributed to me having a really dark sense of humor."
On Jack Black meeting her parents:
"I did date Jack Black a few times. I remember bringing him home, this is how long ago it was, I was still living with my parents. [...] So Jack had just been in the Tim Robbins movie called Bob Roberts (1992) where he played this wacky character and you know, he was very big in the comedy scene, and he's just adorable and so funny and so talented, and we went out a few times. And I actually brought him home to meet my parents and my mother said, 'He's got those shifty eyes. I don't trust him.' And then my mother said, 'He looked like a serial killer.' So there you go. So Jack Black makes quite an impression on the ladies' mothers."
On her relationship with Quentin Tarantino:
"I did also date Quentin Tarantino although I did not sleep with him and I did not have sex with him because he wanted to cuddle. [...] And I am telling you openly, and with shame, that I did not close the deal with Quentin Tarantino. And let's go with because he was so in love with me that he knew if we had sex once he would fall too deeply in love with me."
To see ET's interviewer Mark Steines react to Griffin's disclosures with muted horror, watch the extended interview.
· Kathy Griffin Pulls No Punches in New Memoir [Entertainment Tonight]
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Comments
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb147/scrapy25/jack_black.jpg
Good thing Kathy trusted her instincts; no one has ever cuddled with Quentin Tarantino and lived to tell about it.
i am from the chicago area too..and kathy is my IDOL
( i am 55)
hahahahaha
bite me
I guess immorality runs rampant in her family! I'm going back to when she said what she said about Jesus at an awards show. Hell is going to bust wide open for her when she dies! I can't believe anyone watches her, listens to her or gives her any credibility. And for anyone stating she is their Idol, than all I have to say is God help you. You are to have no other idols, remember?
There is no God...get over it.
There is a God and Mr. J_Macfarlane, I hope you see that before it's too late.
you are a douchebag. stop pushing your beliefs on other people.
Preach(to somepersonwhothinksthatsomeguywholovesgodisadouchebag)!
Says a guy who is trying to push his atheism.
Wasn't it Kathy Griffin that opened her sausage garage about Jesus?
I like Christ I just don't like his people
You are very wrong to say something like that. God loves and takes care of everyone including Kathy and her family. You should b ashamed right now. U have no right to call yourself a christian when u treat ur fellow brothers and sisters like dirt
I don't think your attitude is a very Christian one, Ashley. I am assuming you're a Christian due to your anger over her remarks about Jesus.
However, you are sitting there passing judgment on her and anyone who likes her. Why not just pray for them, that they might find a better way to be? Seriously, take a long, hard look at the words you posted.
I think Kathy is good people, no matter what a relative may have been. Honesty is one of the measures I use to determine what sort of person I'm dealing with and no one can claim she's dishonest.
Ashley's comments are more disgusting than anything I have ever heard or read by Kathy Griffin. And this is part of the reason why I think Kathy's disclosure about this particular part of her family history is so important.
You can call her immoral, paint her entire family as filth, degrade her fan base all you want, but the truth is pedophiles exist in every walk of life, they can be male or female, they can be young or old, they can be rich or poor, they can even preach from the pulpit. And guess what? All those other pedophiles had relatives, moms, dads, sisters, brothers, nephews, nieces, etc. Kathy will speak to these lesser known victims of pedophilia, and perhaps just perhaps, she will help other people come to terms with their own grief and shame related to being a relative of a sexual predator.
She deserves an award. Hope she gets one or several dozen.
Why are "Christian" people so quick to judge and condemn? Ashley, do you really consider yourself so pure that you can afford to cast stones? Take a look in the mirror - you're not a true Christian with that hateful attitude.
Dear Hazel,
Thank you for you for the response you posted. It is wise and you make your point calmly and respectfully. Listening to Kathy's audiobook, it was and is clearly agonizing for her to experience and know that her brother sexually assaults children. She, like you here, behaved nobly. Thanks.
--Jen
I have not been a huge fan of Kathy, but she has grown on me. I think she can be a bit of a publicity pimp at times, such as the comment about Jesus at the awards show. Let's face it, slandering Jesus is going to get a huge response in this country. Unfortunately, bad attention is better than no attention at all in Hollywood! I think it would have been better as a joke had she just made fun of the people who live like hell and then get up and thank Jesus at award shows. I get it and agree! "Suck this Jesus" was over the top, and quite honestly, Jesus didn't deserve it.
I understand Kathy is a little cynical about life, which is partly what makes her very very funny. My brother is a convicted rapist and registered sex offender and it does skew your view of men and God at times. I wonder if she knows of any support groups for families of registered sex offenders. Having a sexual deviate in the family is very alienating, and there is a lot of guilt and shame for other family members.
@Chris..agreed.... a Christian would know better than to judge others.
I was in a band with kenny griffen called the sounds of dawn for three years. Yes he was a wild guy but its a shame the way his sister cuts him down. Come on Kathy he was your brother and you should of triedto get him help instead of turning your back on him.
Idiot!
bill- are you the same bill mendis who was in The Neighborhood? i knew that Billy Charmelo was in the Sounds Of Dawn, and through Billy is how Griffin ended up in The Neighborhood, but i didn't know who any of the other members of The Sounds Of Dawn were. (i was the bassist who replaced Russ Rickman in november of '70,when The Neighborhood re-formed after you five guys left the band. )
Yes i m the bill that sang with the twins chickie and mike in the neighborhood.
Kathy Griffin cuts her brother down because he was disgusting! A wild guy? He crawled into bed with her and whispered in her ear. He also beat his wife in front of her, and who knows how else he expressed his violent behavior in that family. She is all for shock but I like that she can show some humility and personal vulnerability. She is not a bad person.
i also worked with ken griffin for about 4 years in 2 different bands (The Neighborhood, 1970/1971, and Space Coast Kids, 1975 to 1978)- everything that she says about her brother in her book is, sadly, true- he had an absolutely overpowering personality and presence, which i know largely enabled him to get away with so much... he was SUCH a talented singer; it's really sad that he was so messed up in so many ways- i greatly respected and admired his talent as an artist, but i never considered him to be a friend; i just never trusted him enough to consider him a true friend. it was very sad; what a waste of a talented human being.
To jimmy schnider. Yes I am the bill mendis that was in the original neighborhood.
[…] she revealed that she was scared of her eldest brother because was an abusive drug addict. He was also sexually inappropriate with her when he was 30 and she was […]