Kathy Griffin went viral for the wrong reasons in 2017 after a joke many considered to have gone too far. She posed for a disturbing photo mocking then-President Donald Trump and is now reflecting on the controversy.
Griffin, who is no stranger to controversy because of her remarks, faced significant backlash nearly nine years ago. She participated in a photoshoot with Tyler Shields in which she held a fake bloodied, decapitated head resembling Trump in one hand, imagery that drew widespread criticism, as reported by Deadline.
While Griffin once said she regretted her actions, she no longer shares that sentiment. In a recent interview with WUSF, she claimed, “I think I’m uncanceled, which is a miracle to me because I didn’t think I would ever be uncanceled.”
She elaborated that she did not work for seven years and has since returned to touring. When asked how she looks back on the controversy, she said she now embraces that identity.
Kathy Griffin on Donald Trump: “Donald was next to me for four hours. It was a nightmare. It was just stupidity. Blah, blah. The stuff that comes out of his mouth. Sometimes I think he’s kidding. He’s so stupid. He’s like aggressively stupid.” pic.twitter.com/J3HE1Y7Hde
— Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) December 31, 2025
As she stated, “People still define me by it. Now, I really own it, and I absolutely lean into it, because I was right, and I was ahead of my time. And so, when I look at that picture now, I’m very proud of it, because I know Donald.”
At the time, the photo became infamous, and Griffin faced backlash from across the political spectrum. She later released an apology video in which she acknowledged she was wrong. In it, she said, “I sincerely apologize. I am just now seeing the reaction of these images.”
She then added, “I crossed the line….I went way too far…The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people…I get it.”
Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2017
Trump even took to Twitter to openly condemn the act by writing, “Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself…”
The situation was so bad that Griffin got fired by CNN from her New Year’s Eve broadcast alongside Anderson Cooper. But it seems the comedian has moved on from that, especially at a time when Trump himself is getting blasted relentlessly for his immigration policies.
Many celebrities like Mark Ruffalo have openly spoken against Trump and ICE.
Talking to Entertainment Tonight, Ruffalo stated, “We’ve got, literally, stormtroopers running around terrorizing…We have a president who says the laws of the world don’t apply to him and we can rely on his morality, but he has no morality, so where does that leave us? Where does that leave the world?”
