Kathy Griffin, the two-time-Emmy-award-winning and Grammy-award-winning comedian, has taken a stand against CBS executives for their constant refusal to allow female hosts on late night talk shows.
After Craig Ferguson of CBS’s “The Late Late Show” announced he was stepping down, the network began looking for new hosts. CBS selected James Corden, a British comedian who is not very well known in America.
Choosing Corden over a talented comedic veteran such as Griffin is questionable.
“I was interested in the [Craig] Ferguson spot long before it was announced because I had a feeling things might shift,” said Griffin. When the opening to host “The Late Late Show” finally was announced, Griffin inquired about the job.
However, she said she felt discouraged by CBS executives’ responses to her inquiry. According to Griffin, the execs said “they’re not considering females at this time.”
When she told another industry exec that the absence of female hosts was “embarrassing” and that women, who represent half the population, should hold half of such jobs, he had a ready answer: “Well, you have ‘The Talk.'”
The only woman to ever host her own late night show was Joan Rivers, who passed away on Sept. 4.
Rivers started as a permanent guest host for “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” before moving on to “The Late Show with Joan Rivers”. She proved a woman can have the same quality late night material as her male counterparts.
Kathy Griffin’s resume makes her suitable to be a late night talk show host. She had her own show on Bravo, “Kathy”, and she has won two Emmys for “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List”.
Hopefully Griffin’s push for more female hosts will help change the direction of late night programming.
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