'Conspiracy to assassinate the president:' Kathy Griffin unaware 'how serious' case against her was

Comedian Kathy Griffin said in a late-January podcast that she had no idea "how serious" the US Department of Justice was about the photo of her holding a replica of Donald Trump's head just after he was elected in 2016.

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Speaking on the Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson podcast, Griffin said that she had recently gotten back the information on her case through a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request. She said it revealed that they were "trying" to charge her with "the crime of conspiracy to assassinate the president of the United States."

On Tik Tikok, comedian and actress Kathy Griffin shared last year that she has been diagnosed with an “extreme case” of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the quick video, she said: “This really started for me five and a half years ago. Wink.”

In a video she recorded the day after an eight-hour panic attack that left her writhing in pain in her bed, she shared a follow-up TikTok explaining what had happened and how she was out for a walk because she felt another one coming on.

Image: realkathygriffin /TikTok

It is a disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a “shocking, scary or dangerous event.” It’s not only for soldiers and can be triggered by more common things like the sudden death of a loved one. People with PTSD can feel stressed or frightened even when they aren’t in danger.

Image: realkathygriffin / TikTok

Kathy Griffin’s life blew up around that time after she published a violent picture related to then-President Donald Trump. Since then, she also experienced death, addiction, depression, cancer, sickness, and career struggles. Let’s see what’s going on.

On May 30, 2017, Griffin posted a video and photo of herself holding a Trump mask covered in ketchup styled to make it look like she was holding the president’s bloody head. The photoshoot was staged by photographer Tyler Shields.

Image: NBC News / YouTube

Soon after posting it, Griffin apologized for the image and took it down. “I went too far, I made a mistake, and I was wrong… the image is too disturbing, I understand how it offends people,” she said. Yet, during the photo shoot, she had been filmed joking about having to move to Mexico because of it.

Soon after the photo emerged, Trump tweeted: “Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!”

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The first lady also released a statement: “As a mother, a wife, and a human being, that photo is very disturbing… and it makes you wonder about the mental health of the person who did it.”

It wasn’t just the Trump family and Republicans outraged by the provocative, but also prominent left-wing figures condemning the violent representation. “This is vile and wrong. It is never funny to joke about killing a president,” tweeted Chelsea Clinton.

As the scandal raged, she was fired as host of CNN’s New Year’s Eve Show — a job she had done for a decade. She later explained that she cried on the phone to get that job back. She also had all of her remaining scheduled tour dates canceled by their venues.

Besides losing work, Federal officials threatened to charge her with conspiracy to assassinate the president. She told NPR she was on the no-fly list, unable to board a flight for two months, and when she was removed from the list, she was “detained at every single airport.”

Months after the scandal, she posted a video explaining the fallout from the photo, explaining how things were not over, and in fact “getting worst.” She said it wasn’t only her, but her mom was doxed and received death threats at her retirement home, as did her sister, as she was “dying of cancer” at her apartment.

Image: Kathy Griffin, YouTube

On the podcast Sway, Griffin said she ended up in a psych ward after trying to kill herself. She said the situation also exacerbated her pill addiction. “I was just such a crazy workaholic and all of a sudden, I had this time on my hands, and then I was depressed, and things just weren’t looking up. And then, you fall into the, like, life will be better for my husband without me around.”

After her breakdown, she said she went to detox, where she did manage to recover from her addiction to pills. She says she’s become a “corny, happy member” of a sober group.

After the Trump head scandal, she said she takes back the apology back 'big time.' “Stop acting like my little picture is more important than talking about the actual atrocities that the president of the United States is committing,” she said in an interview with Australian TV.

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Not only is Griffin taking back her apology, she has even reprised the photo. On Aug. 2, she posted an edited version of the photo that got her in so much trouble, this time with special counsel Jack Smith's face in her place and Trump making a funnier expression after it was revealed that the former president has been charged over his role in the Jan. 6 uprising.

Image: @kathygriffin Twitter

Although her career got back on track since then, her sister Joyce died of cancer in 2017. Then, in 2020, her mom, who was featured on her reality show, died too. “I am gutted. My best friend. I am shaking. I won’t ever be prepared. I’m so grateful you guys got to be part of her life,” she wrote.

In August 2021, the comedian also admitted she was diagnosed with lung cancer, despite never having been a smoker. She needed half her lung removed, which affected her voice. However, in December, she said she was cancer free.

Back in August 2023, she released a video on Youtube where she takes viewers with her on her journey of getting her lips and eyebrows tattooed.

Image: I GOT MY LIPS TATTOOED!, Kathy Griffin, Youtube

The cosmetic processes are called "blushing" and "microblading" and the people in her life she showed were shocked with the immediate results. Her friend Kristen Johnston said "what did you do? That's not real!" Griffin insisted that it was indeed real. They then went out to a party together.

Image: I GOT MY LIPS TATTOOED!, Kathy Griffin, Youtube

Despite the shocking immediate results, Griffin showed how after four to six days, the color and swelling settled down and the tattooed lips and eyebrows actually looked pretty good! But if you think that's dramatic, you'll never imagine what else the comedian has been going through in recent years!

Image: I GOT MY LIPS TATTOOED!, Kathy Griffin, Youtube

She is a 62-year-old comedian who’s been active since 1980. Besides stand-up, she won two Emmy Awards in 2008 and 2008 for her reality show ‘Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List.’ She’s never been afraid to hide her political views and has been a long-time LGBTQ activist.

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