There’s an old Hollywood saying, “There’s no bad publicity”.
Yet, Kathy Griffin may disagree. Her recent attempt to slander Trump completely backfired, and the backlash left her with time on her hands to think about it. The liberal comedian thought she could push the comedic envelope posing, like an ISIS member, with a bloodied decapitated head of Donald Trump.
The video and photo were posted on Tuesday, May 30th and by early Wednesday Griffin had already posted an apology video saying:
“I sincerely apologize. I am just now seeing the reaction to the images. I’m a comic. I crossed the line. I moved the line then I crossed it. I went way too far. The images are too disturbing. I understand how it affects people. It wasn’t funny. I get it. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career and I will continue. I ask your forgiveness. Taking down the image; gonna ask the photographer to take down the image. And, I beg for your forgiveness. I went too far. I made a mistake and I was wrong.”
She may have asked for those images to be taken down, however, what’s posted on the internet stays on the internet. The original video and pictures can be found with a simple Google search.
As for her apology, there’s no way to accurately determine the depth of her sincerity.
Video of Griffin during the photo shoot paints a much different picture of her malicious intent to defame the Commander in Chief. She knew the politically charged video and images would draw criticism from the Right. In fact, that was one of the reasons for making the video. What the 56-year-old actress/comedienne wasn’t prepared for was the liberal backlash.
Following the comments, she tried to apologize to the public like a convicted felon to a judge for a lesser sentence. Of course, the felon would never have apologized if they didn’t get caught. Which begs the question, if only conservatives had an issue with the photo, would she have made the same apology?
During the shoot, Griffin brags how she and professional photographer friend, Tyler Shields, are not afraid to ‘make some noise’.
It’s certainly easy to do when you have a strong support group backing your cause and actions. However, the video and posted images were met with harsh bipartisan responses, with high-profile liberals quick to condemn them. Chelsea Clinton being one of them, Tweeting: “It is vile and wrong. It is never funny to joke about killing a president.” It was a respectful response, especially for a girl whose had her own issues with the president and following her mom’s humiliating election defeat.
Even Griffin’s CNN New Year’s Eve co-host Anderson Cooper Tweeted, “For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in. It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate.” You would think Cooper’s comment would make things awkward between the couple at the 2018 New Year’s Eve CNN show. However, CNN cut ties with Griffin on Wednesday, May 31.
In addition, the company Squatty Potty (a product designed to help people poop better), who has been using Griffin for an ad campaign, has cut ties as well. There are also reports that Griffin has lost many gigs that she was scheduled for.
Perhaps Americans could be more forgiving if this was nothing more than a heat of the moment drunken rant which got out of hand. This was a photo shoot; a scheduled event which required a lot of organization. There was preparation, organizing schedules, finding the right lights, hiring a professional photographer, and locating a mannequin head which resembled Trump’s shape and facial features and gluing his patented hairstyle to it.
With the negative backlash consuming Griffin, in an attempt to save face, Shields attempted to claim the photos were “artistic expression”, Tweeting, “Can you go to jail for making an artistic statement?? Asking for a friend @kathygriffin “.
Yet, those who responded didn’t see it that way. Many called Griffin’s pictures disgusting and shamed the professional photographer for trying to turn this into a social justice issue.
It’s expected that Democrats would be highly upset if this type of political stunt used the head of Barack Obama or Bill Clinton. Yet, even with the backlash Griffin’s facing, many liberals immediately went to social media with memes of racist signs and images of Obama being lynched with questions about where the outcry was when this was taking place.
To what extent would be considered acceptable outcry? That definition doesn’t exist.
Those who were racist toward Obama don’t represent the majority of the Republican party any more than Westboro Church represents Christianity. And, no, Kathy’s attempt at political satire backfired significantly and condemned many high-profile liberals as well.
Getting back to the old Hollywood quote, “There’s no bad publicity”, as this particular event in time has taught us, there’s no line which can’t be crossed. However, each line you cross is at your own risk. Which leads to the next issue that needs to be addressed, when does political satire transition into a threat?
