After spending much of the week dealing with backlash for posing in a photo with a faux decapitated head of President Donald Trump, Kathy Griffin told reporters on Friday that she’d suffered bullying from Trump’s family — but vowed to mock the president even more in the future.
“The death threats that I am getting are constant and they are detailed,” Griffin told reporters at the press conference. “This president, of all people, is going to come after me? He picked the wrong redhead.”
Griffin added, “I’m gonna make fun of the president, and you know what? I’m going to make fun of him more now.”
Griffin — who has apologized for the bloody image posted Tuesday by photographer Tyler Shields — confirmed that she is the target of a Secret Service investigation over the image. Her attorney, Lisa Bloom, asserted that Trump is “using the power of the federal government against” Griffin, calling the situation “outrageous and unprecedented.”
The comedian, who was dropped as co-host of CNN’s New Year’s
Since the photo went public on Tuesday, Trump derided her as “sick” on Twitter, while First Lady Melania Trump questioned the comedian’s mental state on social media. During the Friday press conference, Griffin said that Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., has also waged a campaign against her.
Despite her vow to continue mocking Trump, Griffin, who apologized for the image earlier this week, told reporters, “That apology absolutely stands. I feel horrible.”
If she had to do it all over again, Griffin added, “I would have had a blow-up doll and no ketchup.”
Griffin also suggested that Trump and his administration are trying to divert attention from an FBI investigation into possible Trump campaign ties to Russia by going after her. “They’re using me as a shiny object,” she said.
“I’m not going to be collateral damage for this fool,” Griffin asserted. “I think he’s a fool.”
The comedian asserted that the photo was not intended as a threat to Trump. Griffin explained that the photo was meant to parody a comment Trump made about then-Fox News personality Megyn Kelly, that Kelly had “blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever” when she grilled him during a presidential debate.
Griffin recalled thinking, “Let’s make this really obvious that I’m making a really absurdist, statement-y thing.”
At one point during the conference, Griffin choked up, telling reporters, “I’m going to be honest, he broke me.”
Griffin also suggested that sexism played a factor in the response to her failed attempt at humor, asserting that a male comedian would have gotten a different reaction if he had pulled a similar stunt. “This is a woman thing,” she said. “I’m just gonna come out and say it.”