Comedian Kathy Griffin has arguably gone further in displaying outrage against President Donald Trump than any other celebrity — which is saying something.
A photo obtained by TMZ on Tuesday from a shoot conducted by Griffin and photographer Tyler Shields showed the comedian holding what appeared to be a bloody likeness of the head of President Donald Trump. LifeZette will not show it here.
If a celebrity had done a photo shoot with a likeness of the bloody head of former President Barack Obama — you can bet there would be serious consequences.
In a behind-the-scenes video, Griffin was seen joking with the photographer that they would need to move to Mexico because they would likely be thrown in prison. On Tuesday night, however, she suddenly changed her tune, or tried to: After serious backlash for her tasteless and horrible stunt, Griffin apologized and said she was “wrong.” She removed the image from her Twitter feed and said she’s asked the photographer to take the image down from other places.
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Angry reaction came from both the Left and the Right. The president’s son, Donald J. Trump Jr., tweeted, “Disgusting but not surprising. This is the left today. They consider this acceptable. Imagine a conservative did this to Obama as POTUS?”
That’s exactly the point. If a celebrity had done a photo shoot with a likeness of the bloody head of former President Barack Obama — you can bet there would be serious consequences. Jail time might be one of them.
The president himself even tweeted on this matter.
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Media Research Center President Brent Bozell also responded to the photo and Griffin’s apology. “It’s good that KathyGriffin apologized, but the damage is done. CNN would be crazy to use her next New Year’s Eve,” he tweeted on Wednesday.
One company has already cut ties with the comedian. Squatty Potty, designer of bathroom products, dropped Kathy Griffin as a spokesperson.
“We were shocked and disappointed to learn about the image Ms. Griffin shared today, it was deeply inappropriate and runs contrary to the core values our company stands for,” said CEO Bobby Edwards in a statement to Fox News. “In response, Squatty Potty has suspended its ad campaign featuring Ms. Griffin. We have acted swiftly and decisively to demonstrate our commitment to a culture of decency, civility and tolerance.”
The comedian is also reportedly being investigated by the Secret Service.
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Griffin — before she saw the error of her ways — tried to mindlessly incite violence in the name of what? Art? Protest? Free speech? What’s so phenomenally offensive is how empty and meaningless such gestures ultimately are. Few, if any, celebs have had their lives drastically changed by the November election. They live just as well as they did under Obama, a president with a record of empty promises who affected many Americans’ lives negatively. But celebrities didn’t care.
Many Democratic politicians for whom Griffin has raised funds have remained silent thus far.
It’s one thing to make an argument against President Trump or against his work as president — but it’s an entirely different thing to show yourself with a prop of the man’s bloody head. It’s beyond outrageous. What average citizen would get away with something like this, whether it was against Trump or Obama or any president?
Mind you, Griffin does some work for CNN. She helps host its annual New Year’s Eve coverage. The company has said it is “evaluating” whether to bring Griffin back, but no official decision has been made.
Many Democratic politicians for whom she has raised funds have also remained silent thus far.
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