Comic Kathy Griffin's social media post depicting a bloody image of herself posed with a prop head of President Donald Trump prompted tour cancellations and got her fired from her gig co-hosting CNN's New Year's Eve broadcast.
CNN has terminated our agreement with Kathy Griffin to appear on our New Year's Eve program.
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) May 31, 2017
That was seven months ago.
By New Year's Eve, Griffin had found new footing – and made some new plans with her mom and her puppy:
Please enjoy a personal message from Maggie, puppies and I. I sincerely want to thank all of you who have stuck by me with support, especially since May 30th. You guys have kept me going. I want you to have a better, if not great year ahead. - KG pic.twitter.com/Ribp30zsCe
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) December 31, 2017
Griffin posted a somber video shortly after the firestorm sparked by the image, saying, "I sincerely apologize. I'm a comic. I crossed the line ... I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people. It wasn't funny. I get it."
She soon struck a more defiant chord, suggesting during a news conference that anger over the image was a political cover.
“We all know what’s going on here. They’re using me as a shiny object so that nobody’s talking about his FBI investigation…I’ve had everybody turn on me. I just want to make everybody laugh.”
She went on to call Trump a “fool.”
“My impression is that they have mobilized their Army,” she said at the time. “It’s quite clear to me that they are using me as a distraction. I’m not going to be collateral damage for this fool. I think he’s a fool. I think the president is a fool.”
She became emotional, asked what the future holds: “I don’t think I will have a career over this. I’m going to be honest. He broke me.”
Turns out, he didn't.
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