One of the best parts of Kathy Griffin’s My Life on the D-List is whenever her mom, Maggie Griffin, is on the show.

We fell in love with her from the beginning when she and her late husband would drink their wine from a box. Kathy talks about Maggie in her act and it’s always a hoot, especially Maggie’s indignation at whenever Kathy does something she finds embarrassing.

Kathy has teamed with her 90-year-old mom for her new book Tip It! The World According to Maggie. Maggie talked about that and a host of other things with The Advocate’s Jeremy Kinser.

Here are some excerpts:

If you could share a glass of boxed wine with any celebrity, who would it be?
Oh, Helen Mirren! I’ve met so many celebrities through Kathy and they’ve all been fine, but I think the only one I’ve actually shared a glass of wine with was Betty White. She was so wonderful and funny and real and adorable. I felt as if I’d known her forever. We just laughed and had the best time.

In your book, Kathy mentions that you now have as many gay fans as she does. Why do you think gay people have had such a positive response to you?
First of all, they’re wonderful to me. If I’m sitting having a cup of coffee, they’ll come up to me and ask if they can sit with me and talk. And I just love them, and I’m happy things are getting better for them. They say I’m just like their mom or their grandma. We always have a lot of laughs. I like the fact that they love Kathy so much.

You were raised Catholic and still have strong Catholic beliefs, yet you’re in favor of marriage equality and gay rights. How have you reconciled your personal feelings with the way the church feels about gay people?
I hate it and it’s depressing. It’s very embarrassing to most Catholics, and many of my friends have been driven away from the church. It’s wrong, wrong, wrong and [the church] is paying for it. I don’t want to give it up. I love my religion. They have to remember that these are human beings. You have to keep in mind the good things the church teaches and discard the other stuff.

I was at the anti-Proposition 8 rally you spoke at in 2008. The crowd was very excited that you were there. What do you remember about that night?
Oh, that was great. They were so nice to me. I had a wheelchair and two really nice guys wheeling me around. The rally was wonderful. I’m not like Kathy. I can’t just get up there and be free and easy. I’ve never done that. But I got up there especially for the parents and families of gays, to ask them to accept their kids. I want them to stick up for them and be there for them. That was my role and I was proud to do it. I think gay marriage is eventually going to happen.

To read the entire interview, go to Advocate.com.

Comments

(All comments are reviewed before being published, and I review submissions several times per day.)