MSNBC Ignores 'Suck It, Jesus' Quote From Griffin in News Blurb

Reporting comedian Kathy Griffin's offensive remarks at an award show set to air on Saturday, MSNBC anchor Norah O'Donnell left out the harshest line. The effect was to make it sound like the liberal former "View" guest host was being unfairly "censored" by TV producers for making a mild joke about award recipients who thank Jesus for their success, rather than blaspheming Jesus Christ directly.

Video (0:33): Real (929 kB) and Windows (1.00 MB), plus MP3 audio (257 kB).

As I noted in an earlier NewsBusters post, Griffin's speech included an exclamation of, "Suck it, Jesus. This award is my God now."

Here's how Norah O'Donnell described the controversy on "MSNBC Live," at about 3:15 p.m. Eastern time (h/t NB contributor Mark Finkelstein):

These days it seems no awards show can escape controversy, and in this case, it’s the creative arts Emmy. And comedienne Kathy Griffin, she picked up the award for Best Reality Show last weekend. But when the show airs on Saturday, her acceptance speech is going to be censored. In her speech, Griffin said, quote, "A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus."

Well, according to the TV Academy and the E! Channel, Griffin remarks will be shown in a quote, "abbreviated version.