Bravo puts Kathy Griffin on the A-List

When Kathy Griffin's run on NBC's Suddenly Susan ended in 2000, she didn't settle for toiling away in obscurity. Griffin launched an orchestrated campaign to insert herself back into the pop culture limelight at any cost. And for the past several years, her efforts have been documented on the popular -- and two-time Emmy Award-winning Bravo reality show -- Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List.

Thanks largely to Bravo, Griffin is hardly D-List now. In addition to being in the middle of a successful comedy tour, Wednesday night is the Bravo premiere of Griffin's latest stand-up special, and also the night she hosts Bravo's big awards show, The A-List Awards.

Happiness talked to Griffin last week, and we asked her if she ever worries that her constant celebrity-bashing will leave her with no friends in Hollywood. "That's my goal," she said. "That's Oprah's job -- to care what people think of her." Brief pause. "And Gail's job," she adds.

Griffin's bread and butter is making fun of the very celebrities she works so hard access. She'll cohost on The View and her next routine will include dirt on Barbara Walters. She goes to the Emmys and James Gandolfini makes it into the act. No one is safe.

In her new stand-up special, "She'll Cut a Bitch," Griffin riffs on pretty much everyone from her mom to the Jonas Brothers (she doesn't buy the purity rings) and Cher (she spent her birthday hanging out with Cher at Cher's house, and if even half of what she talks about is true, it's pretty darn fascinating).

And speaking of her mom -- mom has become a big star from her appearances on Griffin's D-List show. Does she mind being part of the act?

"I emotionally beat her down so that she doesn't even hear it anymore," Griffin answers.

Actually, mom enjoys the attention.

"I'll say it," Griffin continues. "My mother has become a fame-whore. She came with me the other night to the A-List Awards and sat backstage holding court. I gave her a chair and a box of wine, and she just sits and receives people. Then my mother had to throw me under the bus because Paris Hilton said 'hello' to her, and now she thinks I'm too hard on Paris."

She is pretty hard on Paris. We're not saying Paris doesn't deserve whatever she gets (she does), but a lot of people think Griffin is too mean.

She doesn't seem to mind. Griffin has an extremely loyal fan base, and you know what? Mean seems to be working for her just fine.

We asked for some scoop on The View -- is she really banned? Or maybe a juicy tidbit on her Bravo compatriates at Real Housewives?

"I heard my lifetime ban [on The View] was lifted, but I haven't been back, so I haven't put it to the test yet."

Is Barbara Walters as nuts as she often appears on TV? "Well, you can't out-crazy Kathie Lee and Hoda," Griffin offers. "That is a hidden gem of morning television."

What about the Housewives? "They did a fashion show at the A-List Awards and they caused more drama backstage than anyone. More than Justin Timberlake, more than anyone. They think they are huge stars."

Who's the worst? "My mother, who gets along with everyone, can't even talk to Ramona. My mother says, 'I don't like that Ramona, she's nasty!' I'm not afraid of the face work, but that's a bad eye job.

We knew it!

You can catch Kathy Griffin on TV pretty much all day Wednesday, April 15. If you know anything at all about Griffin, you'll know that the usual warnings about language apply:

• Kathy Griffin is ... Not Nicole Kidman, 10:30am, Bravo
• Kathy Griffin: Strong Black Woman, 11:30am, Bravo
• Kathy Griffin: Everybody Can Suck It, 12:30, Bravo
• Kathy Griffin: Straight to Hell, 1:30pm, Bravo
• The Bonnie Hunt Show, 2pm, NBC
• Kathy Griffin: She'll Cut a Bitch, 9pm, Bravo
• The A-List Awards, 10pm, Bravo

Kathy Griffin in concert at DPAC in Durham on April 23. 
The 5th season of My Life on the D-List returns June 8.