Kathy Griffin Launches Online Petition to Make Her Memoir an Oprah Book Club Selection

Tart-tongued comedian Kathy Griffin is pulling out all the stops to try to get back on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Her latest tactic: Launching an online petition to try to drum up support for making Griffin's forthcoming memoir an official selection of Oprah's book club.

The comic, who has frequently made Oprah the butt of jokes in her stand-up act, titled her upcoming autobiography Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin, in a not-so-subtle nod to Winfrey's famous monthly book club. The Random House book hits stores on September 8.

The petition includes a personal letter from Kathy to Oprah, in which Griffins warns, "Get ready, cause after you read this barn burner, you're gonna want me on for sweeps week... This will be the most talked-about episode of your career."

Griffin can't resist taking some shots at Oprah in the letter, adding, "I'd like to sit on your lap, at a moment of your choosing. Please wear peach. I love you in summer colors."

The petition lists a stated goal of 50,000 signatures and was at more than 33,000 signatures as of August 19. Even if the goal is met, Winfrey is unlikely to invite Griffin on her talk show, given the jokes Griffin has made over the years, most notably referring to Winfrey's best friend and colleague Gayle King as "Oprah's boyfriend."

Griffin appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2004 and has been actively trying to earn another invite in recent years. Her last attempt to contact Oprah was chronicled in an episode of Griffin's Emmy-winning reality series My Life on the D-List, in which Griffin and her staff tried unsuccessfully to make a pizza delivery to King's New York office.

REFERENCES:
Barnes & Noble, Official Book Club Selection, barnesandnoble.com
Petition Spot, Petition to Make Kathy's New Book an Oprah Pick!, petitionspot.com
Film Reference, Kathy Griffin Biography (1961-), filmreference.com