Kathy Griffin's comedic stock and trade for most of her career was not remotely political. She was all about telling dishy stories about the Kardashians, Justin Bieber, Ryan Seacrest or whatever celebrity encounter that bemused her.
But she popped open a veritable political Pandora's box in May 2017 after posting a picture of herself holding what appeared to be a bloody head that resembled Donald Trump. She was pilloried by the right for what was deemed a vicious and vile photo shoot. Trump called it "sick." She was hounded by death threats.
Promoters pulled her concert dates. CNN abruptly cut her from its New Year's hosting gig. The Department of Justice investigated her as a potential terrorist (and after two months, deemed her not a terrorist).
The good news for her: She toured Europe that fall and began booking dates this year in North America in cities that have been receptive to her, including Los Angeles, New York, Boston and a show Thursday in Minneapolis.
The bad news: She has been unable to nab any film or TV gigs. No streaming service or TV network has been willing to pick up the rights for her stand-up show.
"Welcome to Hollywood!" she said sarcastically. "Not a special, not a show anywhere. It's a shame. I'm really proud of my story and the historical nature of it. Everyone is afraid of getting a mean tweet from Trump."
The travails she has gone through have provided her plenty of fodder for her current show, which she cheekily dubs the "Laugh Your Head Off" tour. She initially apologized for the photo but has since taken it back with fury and fire.
"I'm now fully embracing the photo," she said. "I was put through the Trump wood chipper although I didn't break the law. Now I'm out and putting people on blast."
Among her targets are TMZ's Harvey Levin, whom she called a "piece of [excrement] who "will do anything for a buck." She has criticized CNN host Anderson Cooper, a former good friend who blindsided her, calling her photo "disgusting" on CNN.
"It sucked. I didn't get a call. Nothing!" she said of Anderson. And she has turned her back on her former Bravo boss Andy Cohen, who snarkily said "Who?" when asked about Griffin by TMZ.
An expensive lesson
Griffin said the photo brouhaha cost her millions of dollars in lost income, and her legal fees are now in the six figures to fend off Trump. She said she was fortunate to have saved a lot of money and has been able to absorb the hit. (She bought a $10.5 million Bel Air mansion in 2016 in cash.)
She has also become a big cheerleader for the #MeToo movement and has little sympathy for the likes of Louis C.K., Chris Hardwick and Aziz Ansari.
"It's bro's before ho's," she said. "They traumatized these women. I know. I'm a girl comedian in a misogynistic field. I'm happy to be a living example of someone who takes the punches and didn't go down."
While most headliners will do 60 to 90 minutes, she's well-known for going two hours. But she has a lot on her mind these days, and some of her shows this year have ticked near (or past) the three-hour mark.
"I'm fine with people taking a pee break, or maybe they can just bring a colostomy bag," she cracked.
More seriously, she said, "After being told for a year and a half that I will never work again, I treat every show like it's my last."
She is promoting her own shows, and her boyfriend, Randy Bick, is her manager. She built up a mailing list of 200,000 names and chose cities to go to based on where the demand has been.
She jokes that she is now "Kathy Griffin: enemy of the people" and a new, more politically engaged crowd is showing up.
Emotionally, the aftermath of the photo has been rough, she acknowledged. She certainly found out who her true friends were. Actor Jim Carrey, whom she didn't really consider someone she was all that close to, called her when the situation was blowing up and gave her advice she took to heart.
He told her that she has a story, "that when all this is said and done, you can put this through the Kathy Griffin comedy prism and you'll have a story any comedian would give their right arm to have."
Griffin is well aware the photo will haunt her for a long time.
"I will be addressing it the rest of my life," she conceded. "I'm just glad to have the opportunity to tell the whole story."
