Trump’s severed head a comedy routine gone too far

CNN sacks Kathy Griffin over Trump video as backlash builds

NEW YORK — Kathy Griffin has lost a decade-long gig ringing in the new year for CNN as a backlash builds over her video displaying a likeness of President Donald Trump’s severed head.

CNN, which had called the images “disgusting and offensive” after Griffin posted the video on Tuesday, announced Wednesday it would not invite her back this year for the Times Square live New Year’s Eve special she had co-hosted annually since 2007 with Anderson Cooper.

A New Mexico casino also cancelled a performance by Griffin, who was scheduled to perform at Route 66 Casino, operated by Laguna Pueblo, on July 22.

And a commercial endorsement deal was cancelled just weeks after she landed it. Squatty Potty, a Utahbased company whose products include toilet stools and other bathroom accessories, said it was suspending an ad campaign that featured Griffin.

“We were shocked and disappointed” by the video, said Bobby Edwards, the company’s CEO. “It was deeply inappropriate and runs contrary to the core values our company stands for.”

“I am a true supporter of free speech, but feel Kathy crossed the line,” Edwards added. “I regret having to make these decisions, but have no choice.”

Griffin’s video made Trump seethe. Tweeting Wednesday morning, he said Griffin “should be ashamed of herself” for creating the video. “My children, especially my 11-year-old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!”

First lady Melania Trump issued a statement of her own: “As a mother, a wife and a human being, that photo is very disturbing. When you consider some of the atrocities happening in the world today, a photo opportunity like this is simply wrong and makes you wonder about the mental health of the person who did it.”

Griffin, a comic known for her abrasive style of humour, apologized on Tuesday, conceding the brief video, which she originally described as an “artsyfartsy statement” mocking the commander in chief, was “too disturbing" ”and wasn’t funny.

“I went too far,” she said. “I sincerely apologize.”