Arts & Entertainment
Kathy Griffin: ‘Trump is trying to ruin my life’ following photo scandal
the comedian believes she is being attacked because she is a woman


(Screenshot via YouTube.)
Kathy Griffin broke down into tears during a press conference on Friday morning as she apologized for participating in a controversial photo shoot and slammed the Trump family for attacking her.
Victim rights attorney Lisa Bloom appeared with Griffin to say the backlash Griffin received for the photo shoot has been extreme.
“As a result of the first family bullying her, she has been vilified, getting death threats, fired from multiple jobs and had multiple events canceled,” Bloom says.
The photo shoot, which featured Griffin holding up a bloody replica of Trump’s decapitated head, has gotten her fired from co-hosting CNN’s New Year’s Eve special and lost her an ad campaign deal with Squatty Potty. Five of Griffin’s comedy shows have also been canceled.
“I don’t think I will have a career after this,” Griffin said as she broke down into tears. “I’m going to be honest. He broke me. He broke me. He broke me. And then I was like, this isn’t right. And I apologized because that was the right thing to do and I meant it and then I saw the tide turning and it was a mob pile-on.”
Griffin reiterated her apology from the video she posted to Twitter on Tuesday and says she didn’t mean to offend anyone.
“That apology absolutely stands,” Griffin says. “I feel horrible. I have performed in war zones. The idea that this made people think of that tragedy is horrible. If I could redo the whole thing I’d have a blowup doll and no ketchup.”
She accused Trump of “trying to ruin her life forever” after Trump, his son Trump Jr. and First Lady Melania Trump expressed their outrage of the image on Twitter and to the media.
“The sitting president of the United States and his grown children and the first lady are personally trying to ruin my life forever. Forever. You guys know him — he’s never gonna stop,” Griffin says.
Griffin believes the attacks are “a woman thing” and that she is being used as a distraction from the FBI’s investigation into Trump’s connection with Russia.
“It’s quite clear they’re trying to use me as a distraction and I’m not going to be collateral damage for this fool,” Griffin says. “I’m the easiest target. I’m D-list comedian Kathy Griffin.”
Griffin has received support from fellow comedians Jim Carrey and Jamie Foxx. Carey told Entertainment Tonight it’s a comedian’s job to break boundaries.
“I think it is the job of a comedian to cross the line at all times, because that line is not real,” Carrey says. “If you step out into that spotlight and you’re doing the crazy things that [Trump] is doing, we’re the last line of defense. And really, comedians are the last voice of truth in this whole thing.”
Foxx says he acknowledges Griffin went too far but still stands by her.
“I still love Kathy Griffin,” Foxx told Entertainment Tonight. “She went past the line, she’ll pay for it in the way she pays for it, and we’ll go out and we’ll laugh with her again. Don’t kill the comedian. There’s a lot of people out here doing really bad things and every time a comedian says anything, says something about peanuts, [people say], ‘You’re peanut-shaming!’ [A comedian] says something about dolphins [people say], ‘Oh my god, you’re a dolphin-shamer.’ We’re the comics, we’re entertainers, we don’t mean any harm.”
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Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
Washington Blade’s unique archives chronicle highs, lows of our movement

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of LGBTQ Pride in Washington, D.C., the Washington Blade team combed our archives and put together a glossy magazine showcasing five decades of celebrations in the city. Below is a sampling of images from the magazine but be sure to find a print copy starting this week.

The magazine is being distributed now and is complimentary. You can find copies at LGBTQ bars and restaurants across the city. Or visit the Blade booth at the Pride festival on June 7 and 8 where we will distribute copies.
Thank you to our advertisers and sponsors, whose support has enabled us to distribute the magazine free of charge. And thanks to our dedicated team at the Blade, especially Photo Editor Michael Key, who spent many hours searching the archives for the best images, many of which are unique to the Blade and cannot be found elsewhere. And thanks to our dynamic production team of Meaghan Juba, who designed the magazine, and Phil Rockstroh who managed the process. Stephen Rutgers and Brian Pitts handled sales and marketing and staff writers Lou Chibbaro Jr., Christopher Kane, Michael K. Lavers, Joe Reberkenny along with freelancer and former Blade staffer Joey DiGuglielmo wrote the essays.

The magazine represents more than 50 years of hard work by countless reporters, editors, advertising sales reps, photographers, and other media professionals who have brought you the Washington Blade since 1969.
We hope you enjoy the magazine and keep it as a reminder of all the many ups and downs our local LGBTQ community has experienced over the past 50 years.
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The fourth annual Equality Prince William Pride was held at the Harris Pavilion in Manassas, Va. on Saturday, May 17.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)






















The Washington Blade held its 18th annual Summer Kickoff Party in Rehoboth Beach, Del., on Friday, May 16. Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer spoke along with State Sen. Russ Huxtable, CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Kim Leisey, Blade Editor Kevin Naff, and Clear Space Theatre Managing Director Joe Gfaller. The event raises funds for the Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which was awarded to AU student Abigail Hatting.Â
(Washington Blade photos by Daniel Truitt)

















