Kathy Griffin battles back
Kathy Griffin is a two-time Emmy- and Grammy-Award-winning comedian, television host, best-selling author and outspoken advocate. She is both revered and feared for her biting satire, unapologetic celebrity takedowns and off-the-cuff comedy style.
While you might know her from her comedy specials or film and TV appearances, you might have also caught her name in the headlines over the past couple of years. It’s been a tumultuous time for her, fraught with cancellation, cancer, addiction, divorce and a psychiatric hold. Most notably, she was considered a terror suspect by the U.S. government after she posted an infamous photo of her with what’s meant to look like Donald Trump’s severed head.
Now cancer-free and off the no-fly list, Griffin is returning to the stage for the first time in more than six years with her new standup tour “My Life On the PTSD-List.”
She’ll be performing locally at 8 p.m. April 19 at the Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. 4th St.
Q
: Can you tell me a little about the concept behind this tour and what audiences can expect?
A
: I was recently diagnosed with complex PTSD. I know that’s a trendy thing to say nowadays, but it’s real for me. I was treated like a terrorist by the former administration, put on the no-fly list and investigated by the DOJ. I was unable to work for six long years. Nobody would book me. I lost my mind! I became addicted to prescription pills. I tried to take my life. I was on a 5150 psych hold for three days, like a combination between Britney and Kanye combined.
I eventually got sober, but then I got lung cancer, even though I never smoked! I lost half of my left lung, so my voice is different now. I lost my voice metaphorically during the Trump scandal, but then I lost it literally. I wear this psycho headset microphone now, and it makes me feel like Janet Jackson. Also, I filed for divorce 84 days ago. Who the (expletive) gets divorced at my age? I’m having to start over at 63, and I want to be on the “Golden Bachelor.”
On the tour, I talk about that stuff, because people can relate to everything from the drug addiction to the cancer and divorce. I also just talk about situations that I get into. … I went to Paris Hilton’s birthday party, and I got a piggy back ride from Gigi Gorgeous. She dropped me on my tailbone, and when I fell back, you could see I didn’t have any underwear on, because I didn’t want a panty line! So, I tell stories like that, because I don’t give a (expletive). I’ve been through so much, that frankly, being dropped by a trans girl and having no underwear on is the least of my worries.
Q
: That Trump incident had a severe personal and professional impact. There’s no denying that it was unfortunate, but have you been able to find any silver linings?
A: God, I really think I lost about a third of my audience permanently. I’ve always made fun of celebrities, and the people in the South thought that I was taking the piss out of Hollywood as an insider, and that’s why I did so well there. But those MAGA folks that turned on me, they ain’t never coming back. I truly believe they’re in a cult.
However, that incident put me in a very different group. It got me, dare I say, a little respect. I was just on MSNBC … and I had a profile in the New York Times. As traumatic as it was, that photo incident put me in with a lot of good smarties who saw I had something substantive to say. It connected me with people that are dealing with things that are not just Hollywood-focused, and I think it gives me the freedom to talk about other issues. For example, everywhere I go, I look up who the local representatives are. Believe it or not, I’ve met a ton of them since the Trump thing. I even went to the White House Correspondents Dinner, and I got in a lot of trouble there! I got to yell at everybody right to their face and I almost got kicked out. But I befriended cabinet members right in front of all that press, and all the Fox News reporters that (expletive) on me? They all wanted selfies for their (expletive) daughters.
Q
: You’ve spoken in the past about certain anxieties regarding aging out of Hollywood. Has that anxiety eased at all with this tour, or