In an interview with the Associated Press, comedian and liberal activist Kathy Griffin said that after 2017 photoshoot in which she held a fake, blood-soaked Donald Trump head, she became “unemployable and uninsurable.”
“I kept saying, ‘I think this is an important, historic story,’” Griffin said. “The President and the Department of Justice shouldn’t make you unemployable and uninsurable.”
According to the AP:
The result is a feature film, “Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story” that’s part documentary, part comedy special. She financed it herself and carried a poster from interview to interview on a recent press day.
“Look, I made it at Kinkos, OK? I’m still on the D-list,” she quipped, referring to the Bravo reality series that earned her two Emmy Awards.
The documentary portion gets raw, Griffin said. “Like ugly Kathy, no makeup, crying.” But it’s also funny. Griffin taped stand-up that’s edited into the film. (She tried to sell it as a stand-alone comedy special and “nobody would even look at it.”)
Griffin eventually admitted that she “screwed up” and changed her tone and style considerably after the controversy. She tweeted May 2017: “I am sorry. I went too far. I was wrong.”
She eventually changed her mind and said she didn’t mind the image.
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‘I Didn’t Break the Law’
“You can be as offended by that photo all you want, that doesn’t bother me at all. But I want people to know I didn’t break the law,” Griffin told the AP. “If you take a photo like that, you didn’t break the law. I didn’t violate the First Amendment in any way. If you take a photo like that, you didn’t violate the First Amendment in any way.”
President Trump tweeted at the time, “Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!”
Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2017
‘Vile and Wrong’
Former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton echoed similar sentiments, tweeting, “This is vile and wrong. It is never funny to joke about killing a president.”
This is vile and wrong. It is never funny to joke about killing a president. https://t.co/zIiuKoMyFw
— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) May 30, 2017
Clinton makes a good point.
In an age of mass shooters and other random acts of violence carried out by mentally unstable people, the last thing those with influence should be doing is promoting violence. Griffin is a comedian and should not be held to the same standards as an elected official, but there is a line and she definitely crossed it.
There’s a reason so many across the ideological spectrum has such a harsh reaction it: The stunt went far beyond partisanship and was an offense to common decency.
If that makes one “unemployable and uninsurable,” perhaps they will think twice before doing something so heinous again.