Kathy Griffin says she went way too far when she appeared in a brief video Tuesday holding what looked like President Donald Trump’s bloody, severed head.
The comic apologized later for the video image, saying it was “too disturbing” and wasn’t funny.
“I sincerely apologize,” she said in a second video. “I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people.”
The first video showed a straight-faced Griffin slowly lifting the bloody head. She originally described the project with photographer Tyler Shields as an “artsy fartsy statement” mocking the commander in chief.
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Many online called for Griffin to be jailed.
In her apology video, Griffin begs her fans for forgiveness and says she has asked the photographer to remove the images.
“I made a mistake, and I was wrong,” she says.
The video had apparently been removed from Shields’ blog by late Tuesday.
CNN, whose New Year’s Eve coverage Griffin has co-hosted, called the images “disgusting and offensive.”
“We are pleased to see she has apologized,” CNN said in a statement. “We are evaluating New Year’s Eve and have made no decisions at this point.”
Squatty Potty, a Utah-based bathroom products company, said in a statement Tuesday that it has suspended an ad campaign featuring Griffin.
Trump, however, says celebrity Kathy Griffin “should be ashamed of herself.” In a post on his Twitter account Wednesday morning, the president says, “My children, especially my 11-year-old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!”
A publicist for Shields did not respond to a request for comment.
The Secret Service has announced it will investigate the incident. The agency is tasked with looking into anything that might resemble a threat to the president’s life.
LGBTQ Nation made an editorial decision not to show the tasteless image and video yesterday.
https://twitter.com/kathygriffin/status/869703678550171648
