Kathy Griffin: Trump joke still costing me thousands

Two years after a controversial sketch about the US president, the comedian is more passionate than ever about speaking out

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Two years after causing uproar by posting a video of herself holding a mask styled to look like the severed head of US President Donald Trump, comedian Kathy Griffin says she won’t
be silenced.

The joke cost Griffin greatly, with stand-up tour dates cancelled and her gig on the CNN New Year’s Eve broadcast axed.

“I’m more passionate than ever to keep speaking out,” Griffin says by phone from her Los Angeles home. “Believe it or not, I think there may be a more positive future for me outside this.

“I know it sounds bizarre and if anyone had told me any time throughout my career (that) the future of your career could depend on Donald Trump … it is not as crazy as it sounds, and there are also a lot of people who feel that way.

“America is in such a state right now that the majority of us are aware and not proud of it.”

Kathy Griffin is back on the stand-up circuit.

Kathy Griffin at a screening of Kathy Griffin: A Hell Of A Story. Picture: Getty

Bold, sassy and funny, Griffin has been pushing boundaries for the best part of four decades, taking the mickey out of herself and other celebrities and winning two Emmy Awards on the way for her hit TV show My Life On The D-List. But it was the Trump joke made on May 30, 2017, that brought her world crashing down.

The details of what happened next are laid bare in Griffin’s documentary feature film, Kathy Griffin: A Hell Of A Story.

The film features key moments from her stand-up comedy and perhaps most insightful, raw footage of Griffin backstage and on flights as she travelled outside the US rebuilding her career.

The movie had its world premiere at the SxSW Film Festival earlier this year and is released this month through Apple and Amazon.

Kathy Griffin at a news conference following her controversial Trump sketch. Picture: AFP

“Oh yeah, many,” she says when asked how many death threats she received.

“And there still are. That is the sort of thing that still happens on a regular basis.”

One of the most intense moments in the documentary comes as Griffin cries inconsolably on a plane before landing in Sydney for shows at the Opera House. She was clearly suffering a panic attack.

Reflecting on those most difficult times now, she says: “I was never suicidal.

“It is a hard thing when a large number of people go out of their way to hurt you in a significant way, which is what this administration did to me and my career.

“My insurance premiums are through the roof. My legal bills are through the roof. My overhead is $200,000 a month. Most of it is legal bills and insurance premiums. And that’s just my new reality.

“Knowing that the government and the Oval Office would go along with that plan has been a very sad and depressing thing.”

She reveals she has also lost friends over the incident.

Kathy Griffin at the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards in february this year. Picture: Getty

“It is a bad feeling to feel like you’re collateral damage,” she says.

Pain of the past aside, Griffin continues to rebuild her career in the US. She’s performing sold-out stand-up again and telling her side of everything with the documentary.

All the 59-year-old really wants to do is make people laugh.

“So much of my career has been really wanting to be someone who can continue to make a living doing what she wants,” she says.

“As long as the audiences laugh. If they don’t laugh, then I’ll go away. But if they’re still laughing, I shouldn’t be made to go away. And that’s something that I don’t think I’m even capable of letting go of. So I’m going to continue to find a way to get comedy out there.”

Kathy Griffin: A Hell Of A Story is on Apple and Amazon

Originally published as Kathy Griffin: Trump joke still costing me thousands