Two years ago, a controversial photoshoot involving abloody image of President Donald Trumpnearly endedKathy Griffin’scareer.
When the photo of the comedian, now 58, holding up aHalloween mask of the Presidentwith ketchup poured on it to resemble blood went viral, she lost endorsement deals, a comedy tour and her long-standing gig as the co-host ofCNN’s New Year’s Eve coveragewithAnderson Cooper.
Soon Griffin began to receive death threats, and so did her then 97-year-oldmom Maggieand her sister Joyce, who was in hospice care for end-stage cancer.
“I felt guilty, like I brought this on,” she tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “I didn’t mean to, but I still brought this inadvertently into their lives at such a difficult time, especially my sister.”
For more about Griffin, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on stands Friday.
Jana Cruder
Joyce diedlater that year — and received notes “telling her to go to hell” up until her final day, Griffin says — and Maggie now has dementia. “It’s heartbreaking,” Griffin says of her mom’s condition. “You’d never met anyone quicker.”
The formerFashion Policehost also regrets how she didn’t consider how the photo might have affected people who lost their loved ones to terrorist beheadings, like the families of James Foley and Daniel Pearl.
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Kathy Griffin with her mother Maggie (center) and sister Joyce in 2011 at Kathy’s home.Courtesy Kathy Griffin
“I’m not apologizing,” she asserts.
Instead, Griffin has chronicledhow the photo changed her lifein a new concert documentary,Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story, in theaters now.
“I’m never going to be the biggest star, but I got back up,” she says. “I just want to make a living and make people laugh.”
source: people.com
