Kathy Griffin says Hollywood abandoned her except for a few including Bette Midler and Jim Carey

EW
Kathy Griffin says Hollywood abandoned her
DEREK LAWRENCE
April 03, 2018

After her infamous photo with a bloody facsimile of Donald Trump’s severed head, Kathy Griffin believes Hollywood abandoned her, refusing to extend a lifeline that she desperately needed.

Last May, the comedian became embroiled in a controversy that sparked a two-month federal investigation when images were released of her holding a fake decapitated head resembling the president. Since then, she lost her New Year’s Eve cohosting job on CNN and found it difficult to book stand-up gigs. And on Tuesday’s episode of The Howard Stern Show, Griffin — who apologized and then backtracked on her mea culpa — further addressed the fallout and the lack of support she received.

“Nobody wanted to hear a word from me. I was anathema to everything and everyone,” said Griffin, who is set to portray Kellyanne Conway on The President Show. “I think what has been the worst is the fact that no one, until The President Show, no one lifted a finger. People would call me and be supportive and then they’d say, ‘Can you not say publicly that I called you?’ Lots of people. ‘I’m being really supportive, don’t ever say I called you.’ I reached out to a few people where the subject line was, ‘Where the f— have you been?’ And people got defensive. I thought, okay, I’m on my own here.”

She continued, “I needed someone to lift a finger. I needed a big showrunner or somebody to go, ‘I’m going to give you 10 pages in a movie, I’m going to put you on SNL for one skit,’ and it would have all gone away. There were so many people that could’ve just done one little thing that would have made this like 50 percent less, and they just wouldn’t.”

But Griffin did say that a few famous people reached out, including Katt Williams, Bette Midler, Aubrey Plaza, Jamie Foxx, and Jim Carrey. (She also said it was male comics and not female ones who came to her defense.)

“I got a call from Jim Carrey, who I don’t really know that well,” Griffin said. “He said, ‘Kathy, do you know how many comedians would give their right arm for this story? You are the most famous comedian in the world today. Use it.’ I was crying on the phone with Jim. ‘Jim, it’s over for me!’ Jim said, ‘Don’t apologize — lean in, use it.’”

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