DADT Controversy: Kathy Griffin Criticized For Calling Congressman A "Big Queen"

Gay heroine Kathy Griffin is in DC to participate in the HRC's lobby day for the repeal of DADT. But today she's under fire by some for her remarks to Capitol Hill's Roll Call.

Kathy Griffin might be a D-list diva, but she says House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) is royalty — of a sort. “I’m meeting with this big queen named Jim Clyburn,” Griffin, who is in Washington this week to lobby for an end to the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, told HOH. “I’m going to be the first person to ever walk into his office and go, ‘Hey, girl!’” Griffin is also slated to meet with the chamber’s two openly gay Congressmen, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) (“Leave it to the gays to have two first names,” she joked) and Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) (“Jared’s a good gay name”).

Mediaite's Michael Triplett calls Griffin's remark "perfectly calculated" to get her the kind of attention she loves and notes the harsh criticism from some LGBT bloggers.

But in a town where even her gays don’t necessarily find Griffin’s shtick funny when it comes to politics, there’s been some blowback by the oh-so-serious LGBT power bloggers. Joe Subday at AmericaBlog said “I get that she’s a comedian (I’m a fan), but lobbying is actually serious business, especially on LGBT issues. Yes, it’s funny to you and me when Kathy Griffin insults members of Congress by calling them “big queens.” It’s a dumb way to lobby on DADT.”

John Aravosis, also at AmericaBlog, chimed in on the comment page of his blog, calling it ” idiotic to choose someone like her for a high profile job on a serious issue like this. Invite her to your dinner, sure. Don’t invite her to Congress to represent us. It smacks of either HRC self-promoting or desperately trying to show the community they’re doing something. Either way, not good.”

Griffin is being trailed in Washington by a film crew from her hit Bravo show My Life On The D-List. For the record, Clyburn is married and isn't thought to be gay.