Comedian Kathy Griffin has been dropped by sponsors and fired by CNN after posing in an ill-judged photoshoot with a fake bloody head of US President Donald Trump.
The backlash to the now infamous photo came almost as soon as it was posted Tuesday. “Kathy Griffin” began trending on Twitter worldwide and she achieved the rare feat of angering both conservatives and liberals at the same time.
The 56-year-old posted a video apology on Twitter that evening, but it had little effect as the spiral of negative backlash continued.
Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2017
President Trump himself responded to the photo Wednesday morning, describing it as “sick” and saying it upset his 11-year-old son Barron.
Pressure then turned on Griffin’s sponsors and employers to disassociate themselves from the comedian. CNN social media accounts were flooded with numerous people calling on the network to fire Griffin from her gig co-hosting the New Year’s Eve broadcast from Times Square.
Leading CNN journalist Anderson Cooper said he was “appalled” by the photo, while news anchor Jake Tapper labelled it “disgusting.”
For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in. It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate.
— Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) May 31, 2017
For those asking, I said on air that I thought the beheading imagery by Griffin about the president was disgusting and inappropriate.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) May 30, 2017
The president’s son, Donald Trump, Jr, posted several tweets urging the network to cut ties with Griffin.
Dear @CNN, I must have missed your statement banning your commentator #KathyGriffin from future shows. Please resend. Thx
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 31, 2017
CNN responded to the furor later Wednesday by announcing that Griffin had been dropped as a co-host from its New Year’s Eve program.
CNN has terminated our agreement with Kathy Griffin to appear on our New Year’s Eve program.
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) May 31, 2017
Griffin was also dropped as the official spokeswoman for Squatty Potty. The company, who make toilet accessories, have also removed an ad campaign featuring Griffin from their website.
“We were shocked and disappointed to learn about the image Ms. Griffin shared today. It was deeply inappropriate and runs contrary to the core values our company stands for,” Squatty Potty CEO Bobby Edwards said in a statement to Adweek.
The entire saga has prompted a wave of reaction on social media, with almost none of it sympathetic to Griffin. Former Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee even joked that Satan had distanced himself from the embattled comedian.
By firing Kathy Griffin, @CNN has officially severed ties with its 57th most hysterically anti-Trump broadcaster.
— Michael J. Knowles (@michaeljknowles) May 31, 2017
.@CNN kicked Kathy Griffin off of the New Year’s Eve show, so I’ll go back to my regularly scheduled December 31 plans & still not watch it.
— Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) May 31, 2017
However, some just thought that the whole furor had run its course and it was time for everyone to move on.
Sorry, the Kathy Griffin story would only merit a second day if that had been his actual head.
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) May 31, 2017
The two big stories of the week have been a typo and Kathy Griffin. We all seriously need to find hobbies.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) May 31, 2017
