Griffin to media: I’m not ‘laying down’ for Trump
LOS ANGELES — Embattled comedian Kathy Griffin says she’s not afraid of Donald Trump and plans to keep making fun of him but maintained that she’s sorry for a video that depicted her holding a likeness of the president’s severed, bloody head.
At a rambling news conference Friday, Griffin tearfully predicted her career is over and said Trump “broke me.” Since the video was posted Tuesday, she has lost her job co-hosting CNN’s New Year’s Eve special and had five comedy shows canceled. Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Donald Trump Jr. have publicly criticized the video.
Griffin, who asserted that she has been contacted by the Secret Service, said the Trumps are “trying to ruin my life forever.”
Griffin, 56, repeated her claim that the video was a parody, meant as a pointed comeback to Trump’s remark last summer that former Fox News Channel personality Megyn Kelly had “blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of wherever.”
“I’m not laying down for this guy,” she said in one defiant moment. “I’m going to keep making jokes about this guy,” the comedian said.
Griffin switched between contriteness to combativeness during the news conference, during which she attempted several nervous jokes that drew laughs mostly from her attorney, Lisa Bloom.
Backlash against Griffin has continued to grow. Griffin said five of her performances have been canceled this week. Venues in New Jersey, New York, New Mexico and Pennsylvania canceled upcoming shows.
Sen. Al Franken also disinvited Griffin from an event promoting his new book, Giant of the Senate.
An endorsement deal with Squatty Potty also ended.
Even Anderson Cooper, her CNN co-host for the New Year’s Eve show, condemned the images. Griffin said she has not spoken to Cooper since.