Comedian goes ‘too far’ with crude Trump video
Kathy Griffin dropped from longtime gig at CNN after posting ‘disgusting’ images
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 U.S. 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 CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
The comedian and reality TV star apologized Tuesday night for a shocking picture in which she was seen holding a prop of Trump’s bloody, severed head.
In a video posted on social media, Griffin said she crossed the line and that the image was too disturbing.
“I sincerely apologize. I am just now seeing the reaction of these images,” she said of the picture. The president was not impressed, tweeting Wednesday morning about the widely denounced image, which Trump called “sick!”
“Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!”
Donald Trump Jr. was especially incensed, tweeting the photo was “disgusting but not surprising.”
Melania Trump issued a longer statement midday Wednesday: “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 veteran standup comedian and actress who has won two Emmys for her reality show My Life on the D List, had shared the image in a now-deleted tweet.
Criticism came from liberals and conservatives, including former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and Chelsea Clinton.
Her New Year’s Eve co-host, Anderson Cooper, tweeted that he was “appalled by the photo shoot.”