Kathy Griffin Clarifies Old Photo with Donald Trump

Kathy Griffin, the comedian, recently addressed the public regarding an old photograph depicting her alongside President Donald Trump. Posted on her YouTube channel, Griffin emphasized that the image was authentic and not an AI creation. In her video, she discussed how people had been sending her this picture, mentioning Trump as “someone I used to know, but now I don’t care to know any longer.”

Griffin acknowledged once having a friendly relationship with Trump. She stated, “I know, can you believe it?” She recalled knowing Trump as someone who would attend various events, sharing laughs at her jokes. Griffin clarified that she does not intend to glorify him today. To prove the photo’s authenticity, she retrieved the dress she wore then, noting that it was about 20 years old.

Despite her criticisms of Trump, Griffin expressed affection for a particular image of her with Trump and financial TV personality Suze Orman, capturing the frequent encounters of the 2000s. She noted, “I would just run into Donald quite often at events, and he was ever-present.”

Addressing the same, Griffin added, “I’m aware there are many pictures of me with Donald on the internet, and MAGA people love to post them and act like I’m a phony.” She referenced a satirical photo where she appeared to “jokingly, Perseus-style, wanted to decapitate him,” showing no remorse for what she considered satire.

In 2017, Griffin faced significant backlash over an image holding a Halloween mask resembling Trump’s severed head. This incident led to a Secret Service investigation to determine if the image threatened the president. Griffin initially apologized, but later retracted that apology, expressing pride in the controversial photo. She stated, “People still define me by it. Now, I really own it, and I absolutely lean into it, because I was right, and I was ahead of my time.”