Actors to Hollywood: 'Enough is Enough'

Actors to Hollywood: 'Enough is Enough'
Petition set up to seek respect for Jesus' name

Actress Kathy Griffin's rant at the Emmy awards in which she told Jesus to "suck it" has triggered a petition campaign intended to tell Hollywood "Enough is Enough!"

Griffin, the star of the Bravo show "My Life on the D-List," was being honored for the Outstanding Reality Program, overtaking ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" after multiple attempts, when she launched into the tirade.

But cast members at the Miracle Theater in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., say they have had all they can stand.

"We, as Christian entertainers, do not take it lightly that the name of our Lord and Savior has been mocked, and in response, we took out an ad in USA Today to stand up for Him," the group said.

The group purchased a USA Today ad, for almost $100,000, on Sept. 17 to say, "'Enough is Enough!' The name of Jesus Christ should not be mocked, nor should those who love Him be slandered for their beliefs. It is time for people of faith around the country to stand firm against religious slander, bias, and bigotry of all types including Christianity!"

"We are the actors, singers, dancers, crew and managers of Miracle Theater in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. We are proud to stand on stage every night and use our God-given talents to portray the life and the love of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We, along with thousands of other Christians in the entertainment industry, know our talents do come from God, and we take offense when His name is battered and bruised by people through the media. Over 2,000 years ago, Jesus was mocked and few stood up for Him. We at The Miracle Theater consider it an honor to stand for Jesus today," the group said.

Griffin, at the 59th annual Creative Arts Emmy Awards held recently, said:

"I guess hell froze over. A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this. He had nothing to do with this. ... Suck it, Jesus! This award is my god now," she said.

The statement brought an immediate reaction from Bill Donohue, president of Catholic League. He called it a "vulgar in-your-face brand of hate speech" from a self-described "complete militant atheist."

He continued: "Mel Gibson. Michael Richards. Isaiah Washington. Imus. Jerry Lewis. Every time a celebrity offends a segment of the population, he pays a price, in one way or another. The question now is whether Kathy Griffin will pay a similar price for her outburst. And as we have learned, her verbal assault was calculated."

The Miracle Theater organization said: "Our attempt is not to throw stones at Ms. Griffin, or anyone else. It is every American's God given right to worship freely and to speak freely. We believe, however, that as Christians, we should not accept her mockery of our Lord quietly! What is shocking to us is how people tend to respond to comments like this about Jesus Christ. It made our heart sick to see people in the audience at the Emmys laughing at Griffin's remarks."

The idea for its petition effort, "Million Voices for Christ," came about after many people saw the original ad, and called to express their thanks. The group then purchased a second ad to announce its petition plans.

"It seemed that many were looking for a way to speak out on the matter. If we together stand up and say, 'Enough is Enough!' we can show the media that there are MILLIONS OF US that love our Lord! With a million signatures, together, we can remind Hollywood that this country was founded on the principles of God's Holy Word," the group said.

"The message of this petition is simple respect. Our primary objective is to give any person who wants to speak out in support of Christ an outlet to do so," said Russ Hollingsworth, general manager of The Miracle Theater. "There is strength in numbers. One million people speaking up just can't be ignored."

He said every American has the right to worship freely and to speak freely. "We believe, however, that as Christians it's time for us to take a stand for our faith and ask for respectful treatment from the media and the entertainment industry."

The petition is on the organization's web page.