Former Rare Staff
Eight months after facing immense backlash, Kathy Griffin is still talking about her now infamous photoshoot with the fake, decapitated head of President Trump — and she still doesn’t understand why it garnered such outrage.
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“When you’re in between gigs and trying to stay on the map, you have to think of ways to stay in the spotlight,” she explained to The Hollywood Reporter why she took the gory photo, adding that she later told photographer Tyler Shields to “get it out there in whatever way the kids are getting things these days” in effort to increase anticipation for her then ongoing nationwide comedy tour.
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While Griffin went on to apologize for the photo, both on Twitter and during a tearful press conference, she later retracted her apology and doubled down on that retraction. It seems today is no different, as the comedian still believes the criticism she received was overblown.
“I didn’t commit a crime,” she continued. “I didn’t rape anybody. I didn’t assault anybody. I didn’t get a DUI. I mean, my God, there are celebrities that f**king kill people.”
Kathy Griffin Beheads Donald Trump in Shocking Photo Shoot (PHOTO) https://t.co/UM9GHRrFf5
— TMZ (@TMZ) May 30, 2017
She may continue to insist the controversial move was just a joke, but the Secret Service didn’t think it was so funny and investigated her as a possible threat to the president, asking if she kept any weapons in her home.
“I said, ‘No, Oh, well, I have a sword. It’s huge,'” Griffin recalled. “And my lawyers looked at me, like, ‘What are you doing?’ The agents got very interested and were like, ‘What is it for?’ And I was like, ‘It’s not for anything. I got it when I hosted the Gay Porn Awards.’ And I have to say, the guy smirked. He was like, ‘Tell me more about the sword.’ I was like, ‘Well, it’s big. You know the gays.’ And then it was like, ‘No more sword-asking questions.'”
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Following the scandal, Griffin was fired from her job at CNN, and all of her remaining tour dates were canceled. She has, however, found work performing overseas and is currently planning her big comeback in the United States.
“The minute I do something that makes money, they will all love me again,” she said. “When I’m dead, I’ll be a legend. But not now.”
