Comedian Kathy Griffin is still feeling the after effects of a controversial photoshoot when she held a fake bloody head resembling former President Donald Trump.
Griffin spoke of the repercussions of that 2017 photo during her recent appearance on Dan Le Batard’s podcast “South Beach Sessions.”
One repercussion that she still feels today is permanently losing a part of her audience, The Hill reported.
“One thing that breaks my heart is why I would say I’ve lost, probably permanently, about a third of my audience because of the Trump thing,” Griffin said.
“I think I’ve gained some audiences that are maybe a little bit more political, maybe a little bit more liberal, but I used to play the South like crazy because they knew me as somebody that would make fun of Hollywood and the Kardashians and celebrities,” she said.
After the photo was released, she was investigated for conspiracy to murder Trump.
She was also put on a no-fly list and was fired from CNN where she co-hosted New Year’s Eve coverage.
“I was interrogated under oath,” Griffin said. “They were seriously considering charging me with conspiracy to assassinate the president of the United States. That has never happened in the history of comedy, never.”
The backlash was so severe, she was afraid to walk down the street. That has changed.
“People come up to me now, they’re much nicer and they go, ‘good for you, you were ahead of your time, I get the pun,’” she said. “But, man, I was afraid to walk down the street.”