‘Decapitated’ Trump elicits outrage online
LOSANGELES: US comedian Kathy Griffin said she went way too far when she appeared in a brief video on Tuesday holding what looked like President Donald Trump’s bloody, severed head.
She apologised for the video image, saying it was “too disturbing” and wasn’t funny.
“I sincerely apologise,” she said in a second video.
“I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people.”
The first video showed a straight-faced Griffin slowly lifting the bloody head.
She originally described the project with photographer Tyler Shields as an “artsy fartsy statement” mocking the commander in chief. Many online called for Griffin to be jailed.
In her apology video, Griffin begged her fans for forgiveness and said she had asked the photographer to remove the images.
“I made a mistake, and I was wrong,” she says.
The video had apparently been removed from Shields’ blog by late Tuesday.
CNN, whose New Year’s Eve coverage Griffin has co-hosted, called the images “disgusting and offensive.”
Trump later slammed the stunt, tweeting, “Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!”
Squatty Potty, a Utahbased bathroom products company, said in a statement Tuesday that it has suspended an ad campaign featuring Griffin.
A publicist for Shields did not respond to a request for comment.