“What price am I paying for making fun of these people?” Craig Ferguson said, in reference to celebrities like Britney Spears, Anna Nicole Smith and former NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak. Ferguson, the host of CBS's Late, Late Show, recounted a recent episode in which he met Kevin Costner at a function, shortly after having poked fun at some troubles Costner was dealing with in his personal life. Ferguson could tell that the actor was upset, but was holding in his anger in an effort to remain cordial and polite. “That freaked me out,” he said. “It kind of personalized it for me. And I thought, I don’t know if I feel good about this. I want to be funny, but I want to be able to get some sleep at night.”

Then, on Sunday, February 18, 2007, while watching video clips of Britney Spears with her shaven head and reading reports of her in-and-out dalliances with rehab, Ferguson had an epiphany. “What’s happening to her is NOT funny,” he told his audience. “Comedy should contain a certain amount of joy. It should be about attacking the powerful people, attacking the politicians and the other blowhards. It shouldn’t be about going after VULNERABLE people.” Ferguson said that other comics like David Letterman, Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel are free to do whatever jokes they want, but in light of Anna Nicole Smith's death, he said people should realize that ADDICTION ISN'T A JOKE.

In his monologue on Monday, February 19th, he brought up the subject of Spears' recent bizarre behavior, refusing to make fun of it, saying instead that he was sober for 15 years, and the only thing that ensures his continued sobriety is talking to people with similar problems. To underscore his point, Ferguson dove into a revealing – and at times very funny – story of his drinking days, and some of the life and death decisions he made on his journey. He related how his misuse of alcohol saved him from suicide because he got too drunk to do it. He went on to describe in a general way what he was like, what happened to him, and what he is like now — in an effort to carry this message to other alcoholics so that they may draw on his experiences, strengths, and hopes. Ferguson stressed that his alcoholism is a THINKING disease rather than a drinking disease, and that for him, abstinence from alcohol will be a lifetime struggle because, ultimately, his own thought processes and avoidance of difficult issues could possibly drive him to abuse alcohol again. He encouraged people with similar experiences to seek others to talk with, and indicated that they may be found near the front of the phone book, i.e. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). (You can watch this monologue at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bbaRyDLMvA )

"I think there's an edit button missing somewhere," Ferguson told E! Entertainment News. "I think that as a society, we should look it up every now and again. I think that there's something kinda socially lacking … I'm amazed that NOT poking fun at somebody has become a news story ... I did it because it was AN ACT OF CONSCIENCE. I won't do this show for demographics, I won't do it for viewers, I certainly won't do it for money — this is about doing something that I have fun doing and I believe in doing." Ferguson said he doesn't know if Britney Spears is an alcoholic, but she is clearly suffering. "I don't want to talk about sick people like that," he said. Despite the media frenzy that is surrounding Spears' demise, Ferguson said fans are responding well to the stand he has taken. "Thousands of e-mails have come pouring into CBS with people saying, 'Good job,' " he said. "I would have done it anyway, though. The other side of this, for CBS, that you have to understand, is, if this was a less popular stance, I'd STILL be taking it." (See this interview at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NocUu9aY7TQ )

CRAIG FERGUSON: A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY Craig Ferguson was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and raised in nearby Cumbernauld. He lived in London for 8 years, where he was a drummer in a little-known punk rock band. At one point Ferguson lived in New York City, where he worked in construction in Harlem and as a bouncer at a saloon in the East Village. His US breakthrough came when he was cast as Nigel Wick, Drew Carey's boss on The Drew Carey Show, from 1996 to 2003. Ferguson was the successor to Craig Kilborn on CBS's The Late Late Show and his first show aired January 2005, with consistently successful results since then. As the show progressed, Ferguson began improvising the opening monologue — one year later, he was using only an outline. On January 30, 2006, Ferguson dedicated an entire episode as a "eulogy" to his father, who had died in Scotland the day before. The monologue of this episode, during which he shared some anecdotes about their relationship, contributed greatly to his nomination for an Emmy Award in 2006. With his debut novel "Between the Bridge and the River," the Los Angeles Times says Ferguson is "...a talk show host who can hold his own as a literary storyteller." Another critic says, "There's a sharp needle, called a 'between', that is used for fine stitching in heavy fabric. This implement is a perfect metaphor to describe the crafting of the inspiring fiction and the golden thread of Craig Ferguson's sharp wit and keen insight into the depravity and glory of the human psyche." Biography continued at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Ferguson

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