Kathy Griffin is making four-letter words a New Year’s Eve tradition at CNN.
The Atlanta-based cable news network has issued a public apology after the Bravo reality star and outspoken funnywoman swore during CNN’s annual New Year’s Eve countdown for the second year in a row.
Kathy was a guest host on news channel CNN’s end-of-year program live from Times Square on Thursday when she let the F-word slip during a discussion about the Balloon Boy scandal with co-host Anderson Cooper. Kathy joked about how to pronounce the first name of Falcon Heene – the 6-year-old at the center of the hoax.
“Fal– F**kin’? Falcon? How do you say it?” Kathy asked. “You’re terrible. Really terrible,” Anderson chided her, shaking his head.
During CNN’s 2008 broadcast, Kathy fired off the foul taunt at a crowd heckler.
CNN producers promptly issued a statement on Friday apologizng to viewers for Kathy’s on-screen outburst. The network says it “regrets that profanity was used during our New Year’s Eve coverage.”
Kathy, on the other hand, was less than apologetic
In a statement released by her publicist Friday, Griffin made light of the joke: “Like every other serious reporter covering the now infamous balloon boy hoax, I struggled to pronounce his name ‘Falcon’ correctly and have gotten a kick out of how many ways I’ve heard it pronounced by other serious reporters. Just add me to that list and happy new year!”
When sked whether Griffin would be invited back next year, CNN spokeswoman Shimrit Sheetrit said planning for the 2011 celebration hadn’t yet begun.