Kathy Griffin, the acclaimed comedian and television host, renowned for her sharp satire and fearless comedy, is making a triumphant return to the stage after overcoming a series of personal and professional challenges.
What to Expect On the Tour
6 Years after the controversial photo incident with former U.S president Donald Trump, Griffin has been on the no-fly list, investigated by the Department of Justice, Had a drought in terms of work offers, diagnosed with lung cancer, under psychiatric hold, filed for divorce at the age of 63, lost a majority of her audience, struggled through addiction to prescription pills, and was diagnosed with complex PTSD.
That was all under 6-7 years, Griffin lived through a lot of traumatic incidents that she intends to use on her tour. There’s also a lot of lighthearted stories sprinkled about the situations she managed to stumble into. Griffin says that all the stuff she’ll be talking about will have something people can relate to, and acknowledges that she really has been through a lot.
The “Trump” Picture
Kathy Griffin posted a picture of a Trump mask with ketchup on it that just outraged the former president (Seen above) , Trump even sent out a tweet in response.
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
And although, Kathy was ready to face some backlash over it, thinking it would just be up talked about on Instagram for two to three days.
Although there are iconic comedians like George Carlin who have been harassed by the police before she did not expect she would be investigated by the Department of Justice, Secret Service, and the US Attorney’s office for “conspiracy to assassinate the president”.
Griffin blames herself for thinking that people were as she says, “ready to ready to realize the level of dangerous that the former president is”.
On an interview with MSNBC, she was asked that despite being a person who was high-profile and had means, what does it mean for the average American if they can do it to her. She replies with,
What happened to me could happen to you because I was literally just taking a photo which I thought would be outrageous and maybe live on a gay blog for two days or something.
Apology
Although Griffin apologized for the photo, months later she retracted her apology and said that she’s not afraid of Trump, labelling him as a “bully” and because of the way Trump and his family “blew it out of proportion”. Because of the whole fiasco in fact, she is going to make fun of him more.
I am no longer sorry. The whole outrage was B.S. The whole thing got so blown out of proportion, and I lost everybody. Like, I had Chelsea Clinton tweeting against me. I had friends, Debra Messing from ‘Will and Grace,’ tweeting against me. I mean, I lost everybody.
During the whole controversy, she received lots of death threats and not just that the venues themselves, that had Kathy performing received death threats demanding that she be removed from their lineups. She also lost her decade-long contract of co-hosting CNN’s New Year’s Eve Special.
I’ve been through the mill. My entire tour was canceled within 24 hours because every single theater got all these death threats. These Trump fans are hard core. They are a minority, but they know how to act like they’re a majority.
New Horizons
Although the whole incident was rightfully very traumatic, when asked whether there was any silver lining to it, she mentioned that because of the photo, she was able to make a lot of meaningful connections or what she considers as “smarties”.
As traumatic as it was, that photo incident put me in with a lot of good smarties who saw I had something substantive to say. It connected me with people that are dealing with things that are not just Hollywood focused, and I think it gives me the freedom to talk about other issues.
Venues that previously stated that Kathy will never come back to their place because of the controversy, now they’re calling for her to come back!
That’s actually one of the places that put out a statement six years ago saying “Kathy will never be welcome here again.” But the dude that made that statement, he finally died, so that’s how I get work, is when the men that hate me finally die. So, he croaked, and I got booked for a show. It sold out, which in Vegas is hard, because the competition is ridiculous now. Anyways, the minute my feet hit the stage, I was totally relaxed.
Tour Details
Because of her lung cancer diagnosis, she lost a part of her lung and because of it, she has a tougher time in speaking and has to wear a special headset to help carry her voice and additionally she can’t really do impressions anymore.
However, Griffin says that she isn’t afraid of performing again because she has a genuine relationship with her audience. Tour Details could be found on her website HERE!
We’ve got a bunch of great comedy shows lined-up for you here at Big Belly Comedy Club, so come on in and join in on the fun! Award-winning comedians, unbelievably delicious food, and lots and lots of drinks all available every day!
