Kathy Griffin‘s comedic career hit an unexpected bump in the road after she poses with a doll head gussied up to look like a decapitated Donald Trump, fake blood pouring everywhere.
Then followed the slightly hysterical apology and over-the-top press conference. She lost gigs, cash, fans, and friends — including Anderson Cooper, with whom she’d been friends for 17 years, regularly co-hosting CNN‘s New Year’s Eve broadcast alongside him.
Related: Is this even legal? Kathy Griffin decapitates Trump in grisly photo shoot
“For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in. It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate,” he tweeted shortly after the photograph went viral.
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Speaking to The Cut, Griffin says she knows Cooper was in a difficult position, but felt she at least deserved a text or phone call from him before he decided to tweet about it.
She claims he added insult to injury by telling Andy Cohen on “Watch What Happens Live” that he and Griffin were still tight — despite the fact that he hadn’t reached out to her since the photo was released.
Griffin ended the friendship after Cooper finally tried contacting her via text, several months after the incident.
And she’s still angry about Trump.
“Why are people still expecting me to apologize and grovel to a man that tweets like this?” Griffin asks. “I’m a comedian; he’s our fucking president.”
“President Trump just pardoned Joe Arpaio, who was essentially running a concentration camp in the Arizona desert. He said there are some good Nazis, and he’s kicking out young adults who were brought here as kids by their parents, and I’m the one who has to continue to apologize?”
Griffin is launching her “Laugh Your Head Off” tour in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, where you can expect plenty of Trump jokes, but probably not too many bloody doll heads made up to look like a way-dead Donald Trump.
The "Laugh Your Head Off" World Tour. Tickets & Pre-Sale Info at https://t.co/zey0LOSPgE pic.twitter.com/Pcol9HKJzH
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) August 27, 2017
jkthsnk
Good for you. Cooper’s always been a self-centered ahole.
cbpize
I think she was being generous stating he should have called her first. It wasn’t “news”. Why did he feel the need to voice an opinion at all?
inbama
Glad to see her doubling down on attacking the Nazi-loving Russian suck-up.
Whining made her look weak.
jkthsnk
Now if we could just get that lying for cash, America embarrasing Cohen off the air.
JaredMacBride
Griffin, Cooper and Cohen are all talentless hacks, but Andy sure does know how to produce junk people love to watch.
Jaxton
Love to watch? Like 0.5% of the population?
Xzamilloh
What did she expect him to say or do? He had to respond almost instantly, being a CNN anchor, and notably one of her most known friends. Yeah, it’s kinda crappy he didn’t text her immediately, but she isn’t being fair by a long shot, and she never should have apologized in the first place or held that stupid conference, where she tried to put her vajayjay out there like it would stop criticism. “I’m a woman so I’m getting this flak.” Yeah, and that’s why Trump gets so much flak and round the clock condemnation… because he’s a woman. Not his policies, man child mentality, or more baby mamas while repping a party that is the antithesis of those kind of “values”
jjose712
She made a big big mistake, and she didn’t reacted well when the backlash (which was very predictable) started.
Maybe Anderson didn’t reacted the best way, but she is the main responsable of all that happened. And yes, Trump is awful but that doesn’t change the fact that what she did was tasteless, and the hysterical that came after didn’t help her either
CaliKyle
If Kevin Hart had posed with a bloody Trump head the only outrage would have come from his inherently defective supporters. The rest of the world would have laughed and high fived all around. But a mouthy and ballsy female doing it? Even her friends publicly call for her head. Sad.
Xzamilloh
First of all, you don’t know how the public would have reacted to Kevin Hart holding up a bloody head of Trump, because that’s your own unfounded assumption. It had nothing to do with her being a female and everything to do with her holding up a damn bloody head that looked like something straight out of ISIS’s playbook. No one was calling for her head (I see what you did there), but they damn sure weren’t going to stand by her, not when she clearly was wrong for doing it (even though I don’t think she should have apologized, only because she obviously didn’t mean it)
JamJewel
It was actually amazing that she didn’t know how to use social media to fight the backlash. I mean, with all the lynching photos and effigies of President Obama that went by with nary a commotion, she should never have apologized not even acknowledged the furor. As the highest paying talking head @ CNN, Anderson’s response was totally predicable and deserving of friendship lost.
He BGB
I hope she makes a comeback. I agree with above, she should not have apologized. And worse yet, saying Trump broke her. That’s EXACTLY what he wanted to hear. But when you’re an edgy comic you gave to have a thick skin. I remember Jay Leno made her cry on her D list show and i saw how vulnerable she really was
Lucas23
It looks that she wants to say whatever she wants without the consequences. World doesn’t work that way, dear.
jheryn
Then why doesn’t it apply to our president? He has said and done much worse IMO.
JamJewel
It’s selective liberal consequences, though. Where was the backlash to all the horrible lynching pictures and effigies of President Obama by the other side for eight years? She should have trotted all of them out and told everyone to go eff themselves. That would have gained her a bunch of respect.
myloginname
Pity about AC and Kathy. Speaks volumes about him not reaching out for so long. I look forward to more Kathy.
dean089
Why does the gay media keep giving time to this hag? RuPaul called it out quite eloquently: Kathy Griffin is not our friend, not our champion, she USES us. We are nothing but accessories to her, like an exotic pet. We need to stop being bedazzled by foolishness.
Brody
Hear, hear.
Xzamilloh
When did he say that? Because she’s been a guest on Drag Race in the past
argleflarglebargle
Yeah, Ru never said that about her…. Kathy has, literally, been on the show 3 times. Kathy has fought for us, marched beside us and called out homophobia every time. Used us when? She get’s a gay audience naturally and she embraces is so not sure where this comes from
Rich85
Kathy Griffin is hilarious and Donald Trump is an odious piece of human filth. Trump is the only one who should be apologizing, for all the hate filled truths and ridiculous lies he spews!!
Guy068
Lucky Anderson…
asby
I’m not a fan of Trump and I am a fan of Kathy….But say Ted Nugent did the same thing with an Obama head?….It was way tacky…She has various ways to spread her displeasure with Trump
JamJewel
What the hell? Worst was done to President Obama over eight years and no one raised a hue and cry!
grethomory
I can’t stand Kathy. She’s as tired as hell.
Dwight
Call me a cynic but she comes out with this the same day she announces her tour?
Think she’s looking for publicity and is willing to walk over Anderson Cooper to get it.
Curtispsf
Anderson Cooper strikes me as someone who lacks balls or conviction about anything. It doesn’t surprise me that Cooper threw Griffin under the bus. Sure, you can report on the news and “announce” your disgust for all the world to see, but what you do privately is you contact your friend and see how she’s doing. That’s what a gentleman would have done. Seriously, Anderson Cooper is a wimp.
argleflarglebargle
Even though I think Kathy handled this badly… come on, Anderson couldn’t have at least called her before sending that message out? He couldn’t have texted or said “What the hell were you thinking?” to her face? I mean seriously, I don’t blame her ending their friendship if he’s willing to just slip away when she needed a friend to go “Yeah, you screwed up big time”.
Polymath Level8
It was a vulgar stunt, and Cooper had to condemn it.
But it’s too bad. They were a great act, she the raunchy straight woman, he the prudish gay man with the girlish giggle. I will so miss that gag.
ddevine
I agree with
ddevine
I stand behind Kathy Griffin. Cooper went about this situation in a very ugly way. She was a great friend to him, that was plain to see, and he threw her under the bus without a moment’s hesitation.
jckfmsincty
I doubt that Cooper is a true friend to anybody.
QJ201
Cooper is a sell out. He RESIGNED with CNN when he could have easily jumped over to Live with Kelly… but no Cooper moderately debate club every night and Kelly got Gaycrest.
JessPH
The only mistake Kathy Griffin did is that she didn’t behead the real Trump.
Chris
Doesn’t say much about the friendship to begin with, seeing as how it came to an end for such a silly stunt on her part. As the saying goes: when things get tough, that’s when you know who your true friends are.
DCguy
I’m not really certain why Griffin would expect anything different from Cooper.
Remember, this is a guy who is heir to the Vanderbuilt fortune, has more money than he knew what to do with, and STILL Stayed closeted and would actually give more leeway to anti-lgbt bigots because he didn’t want to come out.
He only came out when he and CNN started getting MAJOR attacks saying that he was showing gay kids that he was ashamed and that it was shameful to be gay, when the gay blogs finally turned on him, he still waited another year, then grudgingly came out. He was barely better than Sean Hayes.
So not sure why Griffin would be surprised that Cooper doesn’t really have any depth. And this isn’t about politics, people stay friends with people who commit crimes, Cooper couldn’t be bothered to send a text? I’ve stepped in deeper puddles.
robertkalin
Kathy. Give it time. You will have the last laugh soon….
talktalktalk
so Cooper threw her under the bus. Can’t say I am surprised. So the best friends bonhomie act was just for the cameras. No surprise there