Kathy Griffin Fears for Career, Nevertheless Persists
Kathy Griffin and her lawyers, Lisa Bloom and Dmitry Gorin, held a press conference today to address the chaos that has followed her inflammatory imagery and sincere apology regarding Donald Trump. While Griffin maintained she was still very sorry for the Tyler Shields photo shoot, she also said she was receiving unwarranted death threats from the public, along with bullying from Trump and his family.
"I'm not afraid of Donald Trump. He's a bully," Griffin said. "I've dealt with older white guys trying to keep me down my whole life, my whole career. I'm a woman in a very male-dominated field."
Griffin said she felt specifically targeted as a woman, saying the current situation would not be happening to a man. Bloom cited other male performers who have similarly insulted Trump without responses of the same magnitude.
The comedian, who has lost her affiliation with CNN and five gigs since the release of the bloody photo, shared a dismal outlook for her future in the entertainment industry.
"I don't think I will have a career after this," Griffin, who wept during the conference, said. "I'm going to be honest, he broke me."
Additionally, Griffin compared herself to a scapegoat for Trump. "I get what I am," she said. "I'm the shiny object. I'm the shiny object so that nobody's talking about his FBI investigation."
Bloom explained that the reason that Griffin collaborated with Shields in the first place was not to threaten the president, but rather to take a stand against many of his controversial remarks and policies. She said Griffin wore a "pussy bow" shirt in the photo shoot as a direct answer to Trump's "grabbing" statements.
"It was a parody of Trump's own sexist remarks taken to an extreme, absurdist visual."
Bloom also stated, "It is Trump who should apologize ... for being the most woman-hating and tyrannical president in history."
The press conference revealed that Griffin has been advised not to leave her home and the Secret Service is also investigating her.
Overall, Griffin shared her determination to see free speech and statement prevail, "I'm not laying down for this guy. I'm going to make fun of him. ... It's a good time to be a comedian. It's scary to be a citizen."
See the full press conference below.
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