Kathy Griffin Calls Beheaded Trump Photo “Faux-Outrage”

In 2017, Kathy Griffin shocked social media users with an image of her holding a fake, bloodied head resembling Donald Trump. Nearly one year later, the comedian is still talking about that photo, calling the negative responses toward the image “faux-outrage.”

According to Griffin, she never expected the controversial tweet to receive as much attention as it did.

“I really never thought that photo would take off at all,” Griffin told the Associated Press. “Like I’ve been doing ‘shocking’ things my whole career.”

Griffin is now revisiting this social media post and how it radically affected her life. Going head-to-head with Trump over the image, receiving death threats, losing her spot on her annual New Year’s Eve slot, a decreased income and undergoing an investigation by the Department of Justice are a few repercussions of the photo. Griffin’s responses from social media users only worsened following an apology video and a press conference where she called Trump a “bully.”

Regardless of the backlash, Griffin stands by her opinion that the picture was simply a way to express her right to freedom of speech.

“If there’s one amendment I’m familiar with, it’s the First Amendment,” Griffin continued. “I know it back and forth and it’s how I make my living.”

Now that Griffin is revisiting this time in her life, she is preparing to launch her summer stand-up show “The Laugh Your Head Off World Tour” in Mexico, Canada and the United States.