Kathy Griffin Responds to Sarah Palin With an Invite to Her Broadway Show

Kathy Griffin uses Sarah Palin's criticism to promote her Broadway show.

ByABC News
March 7, 2011, 10:56 AM

March 7, 2011 — -- In Sarah Palin's book, Kathy Griffin is "a has-been" and "a 50-year-old adult bully." But the comedian sees the "Mama Grizzly" as a kindred spirit.

Responding to Palin's complaints about Griffin's tongue-in-cheek critiques of Alaska's former first family, Griffin's publicist told ABCNews.com, "As a fellow reality star, Kathy would like to extend free tickets to her upcoming Broadway show to reality-star Sarah Palin and her reality-TV crew. Kathy supports all reality stars regardless of what they say about her." Griffin declined to comment specifically on Palin's personal assessment of her.

Griffin parlayed her Emmy-winning Bravo TV series "My Life on the D-List" into "Kathy Griffin Wants a Tony," which will run in New York March 11-19. Palin, meanwhile, strayed from politics into the reality-TV realm with "Sarah Palin's Alaska," which ran from November 2010 to January 2011.

There appears to be little love between them, though. During an appearance on Fox News this weekend, Palin called out Griffin for repeatedly poking fun at her children. Palin's latest gripe: that Griffin will reportedly parody a conservative Tea Party-type character on an upcoming episode of "Glee."

"You know, Kathy Griffin can do anything to me or say anything about me, because you know, she's kind of this; she's a 50-year-old adult bully is really what she is," Palin, 47, said. "She's kind of a has-been comedian and she can do those things to me. I would just ask for respect of my children. ... Kathy, pick on me, come up to Alaska and pick on me, but leave my kids alone."

Griffin started 2011 by revealing her new year's resolution to bring down 16-year-old Willow Palin. Her reasoning: Willow Palin reportedly posted homophobic slurs on Facebook in November, and "You don't throw around the F-word without hearing from me about it."

Griffin has been milking the Palins for laughs for years. In December, troops at the Marine Corps Air Station in California booed her when she made a crack about former "Dancing With the Stars" contestant Bristol Palin during the taping of "VH1 Divas: Salute the Troops."