Kathy Griffin’s sickening Trump stunt united us
Kathy Griffin has apologized for going “way too far” on a performance art project, where she held a model of a bloody, decapitated head, designed to look like President Trump.
“Way too far” is putting it mildly, but in a strange way Griffin’s shameful stunt might have given Americans their greatest moment of unity since Trump’s unexpected election.
When people began reacting in outrage on Twitter, Griffin at first responded with defiance. Then Griffin started getting cold feet, sending out this tweet: “Obviously, I do not condone any violence. ... I’m merely mocking the mocker in chief.”
Later, she deleted her tweets and took down the image.
The photo represents a new low for the comedian, who is known for new lows, but perhaps what is most shocking and unprecedented is that she actually admitted she had done something wrong. Until now, I would have guessed she doesn’t even know the meaning of crossing a line.
But she seemed genuinely remorseful when she said in a Twitter post, “I am sorry. I went too far. I was wrong.” She admitted that the image was “too disturbing ” and “wasn’t funny,” and that she understood “how it offends people.”
Griffin had little choice but to apologize, even though it didn’t stop the overwhelming blowback on social media from famous and not-so-famous people across the political spectrum, including Anderson Cooper, her CNN co-host on New Year’s Eve. He tweeted, “For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in. It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate.” CNN announced Wednesday it has terminated its contract with Griffin.
Trump responded as well. “Griffin should be ashamed of herself,” the president tweeted. “My children, especially my 11year-old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!”
Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton shared similar views. “This is vile and wrong. It is never funny to joke about killing a president,” she tweeted. Actress Debra Messing, a Hillary Clinton supporter, said, “It wasn’t right when people (sic) hung lynched Obama effigies, just as what Kathy Griffin did isn’t right now.” Mitt Romney sent this out: “Our politics have become too base … Griffin’s post descends into an even more repugnant and vile territory.”
The massive backlash aimed at Griffin’s tasteless stunt might have actually brought the country together to defend President Trump, perhaps for the first time. Even Griffin herself seemed to understand that she had done something very bad, which is also a first.
Shock artists like Griffin are merely poseurs hiding behind the guise of humor while avoiding the hard work of coming up with real thought-provoking comedic material. They just continuously blur the boundaries of good taste. The social media storm that shut down Griffin represents a small but important step in preserving what little civility we have left.