Jun 2, 2017

Comedian Kathy Griffin says her career is over after gory Trump photo

POLITICS | Fri Jun 2, 2017 | 2:50pm EDT

Comedian Kathy Griffin says her

career is over after gory Trump photo

Comedian Kathy Griffin tearfully apologized in a Friday press conference for posing with a fake bloodied and severed head depicting U.S. President Donald Trump, saying that she felt her career was now over and that Trump "broke" her.

Griffin has lost sponsorships and jobs, including her role as co-host of CNN's New Year's Eve coverage with journalist Anderson Cooper, since a photograph and video from the shoot appeared on social media on Tuesday.

President Trump said the image of Griffin with the gory mask resembling him was "sick" and that it had traumatized his family, especially his youngest son, 11-year-old Barron. Trump's oldest son, Donald Jr., called for employers to drop the comedian.

“I don’t think I will have a career after this. I’m going to be honest, (Trump) broke me,” said Griffin, 56, a two-time Emmy-winning performer known for her deliberately provocative brand of humor.

Griffin reiterated the apology she posted on social media late on Tuesday, but remained defiant, saying, "I'm not afraid of Donald Trump, he's a bully," adding that she intended to continue making jokes about the president.

She also described herself as a provocative woman who has often had to deal with older white men in positions of power.

"What's happening to me has never happened ever, in the history of this great country, which is that a sitting president of the United States and his grown children and the first lady are personally, I feel, trying to ruin my life - forever,” she said.

Griffin said the photo was intended to mock Trump's comments last year during the presidential campaign, when he told CNN that Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly had "blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her - wherever" when she moderated a presidential debate.

Trump's remark was widely interpreted as referring to menstrual blood, implying that Kelly was in an unfriendly mood because she was menstruating.

At his daily briefing on Friday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer declined to respond to Griffin's remarks, saying that the president, the first lady and the Secret Service had made clear their views on the photo.

Katrina Pierson, a former Trump campaign spokeswoman, criticized Griffin on Twitter after her appearance on Friday, saying that Griffin had had a nervous breakdown about "misogyny & mean white men" at the press conference.

The U.S. Secret Service, which is responsible for presidential security, has opened an inquiry into the photo of Griffin posing with the severed-head replica.

(Additional reporting by Laila Kearney in New York and Steve Holland in Washington, D.C.; Editing by Patrick Enright and Andrew Hay)

copied from reuters.com

Kathy Griffin: Ronnie talks the controversy from @theronniere #standingwithKathy

Ronnie gives us his take on Kathy Griffin

English: Kathy Griffin, before her performance at the historical Chicago Theater, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Kathy Griffin at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We had a chance to catch up with editor in chief, Ronnie from The Ronnie Republic and get his thoughts on the recent dust up involving Kathy Griffin and her visual thoughts on donald trump.

Well, it is always a tough decision in these kind of situations but at the end of the day we have to remember we have the privilege of living here in our great country of The United States and one of the things that makes our values so sought after in comparison to other countries on the world stage is that we do have freedom of speech, in no uncertain terms and that is all there is.

No, I said the same thing when they asked me about Colbert--it boils down to one thing. We can express our opinions without retribution. We have the right to think out loud.

Ronnie also feared that in reality much more harm will be done by the literal assault of donald trump on our environment than the promotion of one picture by one lady.

Ronnie felt like the folks are getting fed up with the antics of the donald and we are likely to see more protests with similar sentiment.

When asked if his paper would continue to report on Kathy Griffin and other comedians of the same philosophy Ronnie indicated that he would still be glad to cover this kind of story. He added that he did not want anyone to think that he did not take things or consequences seriously but he is still driven by his love to tell a story.

Just like reporting on the insanity of bill o'reilly or sean hannity The Ronnie Republic loves to get the word out on all sides.

The Ronnie Republic will even report on our own whining republican, Carl DeMaio. Not only does this individual suffer from the lack of a sense of humor but he apparently also does not want anyone to have healthcare judged by his rebuke of the facts after an interview yesterday afternoon. AM radio in San Diego is so ultra conservative, KOGO made a poor decision in going all Carl and losing Sully.

Just like Jim Carrey, Don Rickles observed that we are lucky to have comedians--sometimes they are the only ones who can really tap into the sentiment of the people.

Don Rickles who has been known for having a sharp tongue has also been one to be truthful yet humorous--not too many of us possess that talent.

Ronnie and Don Rickles have been friends for a long time and he often looks to Don for input on this kind of issue.

Thanks, Ronnie, for taking a few minutes out of your very busy day to give up your take on this giant media issue.

Kathy Griffin, Jamie Foxx, Jim Carrey and CNN on @theronniere #standingwithKathy

English: Kathy Griffin Performing in Las Vegas. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jamie Foxx, Jim Carrey rally around Kathy Griffin

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

Updated 10:26 AM ET, Fri June 2, 2017

(CNN)Kathy Griffin's comedic cohorts are rallying around her after a controversial photo sparked outrage from critics who thought the comedienne took it too far.

Griffin has been caught in a firestorm of criticism over photos published earlier this week that shows her holding up a bloody head resembling that of President Trump.

Griffin released a video apology about the incident.

But that didn't stop the backlash, which came from both conservatives and liberals. CNN fired her as co-host of the network's annual New Year's Eve program.

CNN fires Kathy Griffin

"Shazam" host Jamie Foxx told Entertainment Tonight on Thursday "as comedians sometimes you do go beyond, past the line."

"I still love Kathy Griffin," Foxx said. "She went past the line, she'll pay for it in the way she pays for it, and we'll go out and we'll laugh with her again."

"Don't kill the comedian," Foxx added. "There's a lot of people out here doing really bad things and every time a comedian says anything, says something about peanuts, [people say], 'You're peanut-shaming!' [A comedian] says something about dolphins [people say], 'Oh my god, you're a dolphin-shamer.' We're the comics, we're entertainers, we don't mean any harm."

Actor Jim Carrey agrees.

At the premiere of the Showtime comedy "I'm Dying Up Here" on Wednesday, Carrey also spoke to "Entertainment Tonight" about the controversy.

"I think it is the job of a comedian to cross the line at all times, because that line is not real," Carrey said. "If you step out into that spotlight and you're doing the crazy things that [Trump] is doing, we're the last line of defense. And really, comedians are the last voice of truth in this whole thing."

Sen. Al Franken, who rose to fame as a comic and cast member on "Saturday Night Live," told CNN he plans to appear with Griffin in a few weeks as part of a promotional tour for his new book.

Al Franken: Kathy Griffin can recover from 'horrible mistake'

He said he believes the comic can come back from the controversy.

"Kathy's a friend and she's a terrific comedian, but this had no business being in our public discourse," Franken said. "And I talked to her. She has apologized -- a real, fulsome apology. She's actually begged for forgiveness, and I believe in forgiveness."

Attorney Lisa Bloom tweeted on Thursday night that she will be representing Griffin. The pair will hold a press conference on Friday to talk about the impetus for the photo and the "bullying from the Trump family."

copied from CNN.com