There's a bunch of old white guys trying to silence me!' Kathy Griffin breaks down in tears claiming Trump family ruined her life - as her lawyer scoffs at report Barron was upset over severed head video
By Chris Spargo For Dailymail.com
Published: 12:36 EDT, 2 June 2017 | Updated: 17:50 EDT, 2 June 2017
Kathy Griffin accused President Donald Trump and his family of launching a campaign to destroy her life in response to the image she posted earlier this week in which she appeared to be holding the commander-in-chief's severed head.
The comedian broke down in tears as she detailed the torrent of abuse she has been receiving online, and the constant death threats which she described as detailed and specific.
She stated however that she will not back down from this fight, saying: 'I am not afraid of Donald Trump. He is a bully.'
Later in the interview Griffin said that her career was likely over now as a result of this incident, and that President Trump had 'broke' her, moments after she declared: 'There's a bunch of old white guys trying to silence me!'
Griffin, 56, declared at one point that this would not be happening to her if she was a 'white man.'
Her lawyer Lisa Bloom also suggested during the press conference that despite reports, Barron was likely not that upset after seeing the image of Griffin with the decapitated head by stating the child was 'allegedly' traumatized.
'We don't know that. You're assuming that everything that Trump says is true, and in fact, we know that everything Trump says is false,' said Bloom.
It was also confirmed at the press conference that the Secret Service is investigating Griffin over the image, with the comedian saying: 'Yeah I might get arrested today. I don't care.'
Griffin's criminal lawyer Dimitry Goran also joined her Friday.
I am really nervous, I have never done a press conference,' said Griffin after she was introduced by her lawyer.
After making a few jokes and stating that she stands by the apology she released earlier this week, Griffin said: 'The president and his grown children and the first lady are personally trying to ruin my life forever.'
She then went back to that notion a few moments later, speaking in disbelief as she reiterated her claim that 'this president of all people is going to come after' an 'obnoxious comedian.'
Griffin also tried to explain the reason behind the photo and video shoot by saying: 'I am not good at being appropriate.'
That became clear soon after when she announced that she would not stop attacking President Trump just because he had targeted her.
'I am going to make fun of him more now,' said Griffin.
She then made a point of adding: 'I am not going to threaten him, I have no desire to harm him.'
Griffin was also ready with some thoughts on why President Trump had elected to attack her while his son Don Jr. called for her to be fired from her jobs.
'They are using me as the shining object so no one talks about his FBI investigation,' said Griffin.
She then revealed that all she wanted to do was get back to work, something that is becoming difficult with five venues cancelling her show in the wake of the incident.
'I'm not for everybody,. I am barely an acquired taste frankly,' admitted Griffin.
'I've had everybody turn on me. And I just want to make people laugh.'
That being said, Griffin declared: 'I am not laying down for this guy.'
She later added towards the end of the press conference: 'It's a good time to be a comedian but a scary time to be a citizen.'
The comedian did not however say anything about her relationship with President Trump, who she has known for 20 years.
She also worked with him multiple times over the course of her career, most recently in the 2010 finale of 'The Apprentice,' where she also appeared alongside Ivanka and Don Jr. Griffin also said that it was Megyn Kelly who inspired her to take the image, saying: 'I started thinking of that Megyn Kelly thing. By the way, I'm sure Megyn Kelly can't stand me.I thought of that blood coming out of her eyes blood or coming out of her wherever.'
The comedian and Kelly previously had a run-in this past December at a Women In Hollywood breakfast.
Kelly was the emcee of the event, and when she began to speak about President Trump things took a turn.
'I have high hopes for him. Despite the tweets and all the rest of it, there is much to admire about Donald Trump,' said Kelly, which immediately elicited booing from a few people, the loudest being comedian Kathy Griffin.
'There is. Stop that, stop that. There’s room for the loyal opposition in this country,' said Kelly at that point, a comment which resulted in Griffin screaming, 'F*** him.'
Kelly then responded: 'Guess who that is? Kathy Griffin.'
Griffin later explained how things went down the day of the shoot.
'Let's make this really obvious that I'm making an absurdist, artsy thing,' said Griffin.
'For a few photos, I was holding up this wig head and we kept making the hair crazier.'
She went on to explain: ' We just took these pictures, it was interesting. There were a few people in the house. I didn't do anything for money.'
Griffin said she just wanted to give people something to talk about, adding: 'You interpret it the way you want.'
It was an emotional appearance for Griffin, who most difficult moment came when she began to wail while saying of President Trump: 'He broke me. He broke me. He broke me.'
That was when Griffin said she realized that 'this isn't right.'
'I've dealt with white guys trying to keep me down my entire career,' said Griffin.
'I had learned over the years that sometimes when you do standup, people want a joke that's out there and a little crazy.'
She went on to say: 'I feel horrible. I have performed in war zones. Trust me, if we could redo the whole thing I'd have a blowup doll and ketchup. If you don't stand up you get run over.'
Thus far, Griffin had had five tour dates cancelled, lost her endorsement deal with Squatty Potty and been fired by CNN.
Griffin also found some time for humor, joking about President Trump at one point by saying: 'If you meet him he wants to call you The Donald. I said I am The Kathy, and that went over his nest.'
Griffin joked about going after Barron in her stand-up act back in December
Griffin joked about going after Barron in her stand-up act back in December in an interview with Vulture.
'Now more than ever we must absolutely go for all the absurdities,' said Griffin.
'For me, that's Trump and all things Trump. It's not about trying to be an equal-opportunity offender anymore because Hillary got such a beat down. It's his turn.'
She continued: 'So I'm happy to deliver beat down to Donald Trump - and also to Barron. You know a lot of comics are going to go hard for Donald, my edge is that I'll go direct for Barron. I'm going to get in ahead of the game.'
That comment spurred Don Jr. to comment after Griffin's interview, writing on Twitter: 'To put everything into perspective this is a must read from Dec 16 even states it's ok to go after Barron an 11 y/o.'
Most would take issue with an adult targeting a child for ridicule, but Griffin's lawyer said on Friday that she should not have lost any jobs over this image.
The only reason she did lose those jobs however explained Bloom, was because of the Trump family.
'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,' said Bloom.
Those death threats are more serious than the loss of work for Griffin, who said: 'This is America, and you shouldn't have to die for it. The death threats I am getting are constant and they are detailed.'
Griffin then made a point of adding: 'Today it's me. Tomorrow it could be you.'
Bloom also stressed her client's impeccable record and the fact that she has never committed an act of violence or assault before, stating: 'Kathy never imagined it could be misinterpreted as a threat of violence against Trump. That was never what she intended.'
The victim's rights lawyer, who also represented a number of former employees who are suing Fox News, also noted of the photo shoot: 'This was clearly a parody of Trump's own sexist remarks, taken to an extreme, edgy visual.'
She used her introduction to explain why President Trump's actions against Griffin were such a problem.
'Kathy and Donald Trump are not equals. He's the president of the United States. He's not just Donald Trump, real estate developer, and this isn't just another celebrity feud,' said Bloom.
'He's the president of the United States. His family is calling on Kathy on Twitter to be fired from all of her jobs. This is outrageous and unprecedented.'
'I go town to town with my ****** jokes and try to make people laugh. I didn't grab anyone's you know what,' said Griffin
Griffin thinks that ultimately she was targeted because of her sex and her level of fame.
'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,' said Griffin.
'I'm the easiest target. I'm D-list comedian Kathy Griffin.'
And while she wanted to stay quiet, she was afraid about others suffering a fate similar to her own she explained on Friday.
'He broke me and then I was like 'No, this isn't right,'' said Griffin.
'I apologized because was the right thing to do. Then it became a mob mentality pile-on.'
Griffin, who said she is '110 pounds when wet,' went on to explain: 'He's not just Donald Trump, real estate developer, having a celebrity feud He's using the power of the government.'
Bloom made a similar comment, stating: 'The message was clear: Criticize the president, lose your job.'
She also noted: 'Ted Nugent threatened to kill President Obama. President Trump invited him to the White House.'
The lawyer's anger towards President Trump also turned a but personal at one point it seemed, when she shouted out at one reporter: 'There's a lot of disgusting stuff on the news every day, like the fact that [President Trump is] making us the laughing stock of the world.'
And it seems that on top of the blows to her professional life there have also been some difficult moments in Griffin's personal life as a result of this incident.
In a moment that anything but funny on Friday, Griffin was asked to comment on her friend and former CNN co-host Anderson Cooper criticizing her decision to post a criticism of her photo on Twitter.
'That hurt, that's all,' said Griffin, breaking down in tears once more.
Cooper wrote on his personal account Tuesday: 'For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in. It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate.'
She was fired from her post as his New Year's Eve co-host on CNN roughly 24 hours later.
Griffin spoke about President Trump at length in an interview this past March with CityBeat Cincinnati, revealing that the two had known one another for two decades.
'I’ve known him off and on since 1995,' said Griffin.
'I feel very privileged to be able to bring my own personal run-ins with "The Cheeto" to audiences all over, but most importantly to Cincinnati. The Taft Theatre audience needs to hear from someone who has met him several times'
Griffin admitted in the interview that she never had a particularly high opinion of President Trump.
'I found him to always be a buffoon,' she explained.
'But honestly, and I think unfortunately, a lot of people just thought he was harmless.'
She then revealed that President Trump would often ask her to not go after him during her stand-up routines.
'Almost every time I’ve run into this fool, he comes up to me and says, "Uh, oh, don’t be too hard on me. I know you’re going to be funny, but you can be tough,"' said Griffin.
'I find that fascinating.'
She also mentioned that one of her best friends, the late Joan Rivers, was also incredibly close to President Trump.
'I think she got a kick out of him, but I don’t think she knew this side of him,' said Griffin.
Griffin was roundly criticized after posting the photo earlier this week, with everyone from former first daughter Chelsea Clinton to her good friend Anderson Cooper publicly stating that the photo and accompanying video was 'appalling' and 'disgusting.'
President Trump also spoke out after seeing the photo, as did his son Don Jr., daughter-in-law Lara and the First Lady.
Meanwhile, the harsh words keep coming for Griffin, with Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey the latest to take aim at the entertainer, saying at a news conference on Thursday: 'She's disgusting. And it's completely outrageous. I don't think anybody should hire her again for anything.'
Bloom has also been receiving her fair share of negative notes, with the lawyer Tweeting Friday morning: 'To all you sending me hate mail today for my representation of Kathy Griffin, I have this message for you. XO Lisa'
She then included an image of an affirmation that read: 'The Devil whispered in my ear, 'You're not strong enough to withstand the storm.'
'Today I whispered in the Devil's ear, 'I am the storm.''
The four Trumps who denounced Griffin all stressed the fact that there are young children in the family who were traumatized by the image.
Don Jr. was the first to speak out, with the oldest Trump child taking to Twitter soon after the image was posted on Tuesday.
He posted twelve tweets in the span of 24 hours, with many calling for CNN to fire Griffin.
'Dear @CNN, I must have missed your statement banning your commentator #KathyGriffin from future shows. Please resend. Thx,' wrote Don Jr. in one tweet.
He also responded to tweets from CNN anchors Jake Taper and Cooper after they reprimanded Griffin on the social media site, asking why she still had not been fired and if they would work with the comedian in the future.
The men did not engage Don Jr., and on Wednesday it was announced that CNN had terminated Griffin from their annual New Year's Eve show.
That was the line President Trump took that same day, writing on Twitter:'Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!'
The most damning statement however came from the First Lady, who has done her best to stay out of the many controversies that have mired her husband's presidency.
'As a mother, a wife, and a human being, that photo is very disturbing,' said Melania just hours after a report emerged claiming that her son Barron initially thought that his father had been decapitated when he saw the image on TV.
'When you consider some of the atrocities happening in the world today, a photo opportunity like this is simply wrong and makes you wonder about the mental health of the person who did it.'
Lara was the last to speak out, and targeted the photographer Tyler Shields.
The daughter-in-law of President Trump expressed how appalled she was during an appearance on 'Hannity' Wednesday night, before going on to state that Griffin is not the only person who should be getting heat for the incident.
'She has many people around her. There was a photographer involved. I'm sure she has a publicist that works with her,' said Lara.
'There were a lot of people around that could have said, 'You know what, this crosses a line.''
The publicists who represent Griffin at PMK•BNC told DailyMail.com that they were not involved in the photo shoot.
Lara also said during her Fox News appearance that the family was doing their best to take this latest incident in stride, but struggling in the wake of reports which revealed that Barron was terrified after seeing the image of his father on television.
'I'd love to say that it gets easier. It doesn't get easier, but we can handle it' explained Lara.
'We've taken it for almost two years and we understand that this is the world we live in and we've accepted it, in a way.'
'It tells you the society that we live in today and what some people deem acceptable,' Lara, who is expecting her first child with husband Eric, later said in the interview.
'Had this happened to President Obama, I can only imagine what people would be saying right now.'
Shields meanwhile continues to stand by the image.
'I got no comment. The thing is, when you make art you go to stand by it,' Shields said during the exchange outside Gelson's supermarket, which was posted by TMZ.
Lashing out: Lara Trump (above) criticized Kathy Griffin during an appearance on 'Hannity' Wednesday night
Even former first daughter Chelsea Clinton was quick to express her outrage at Griffin tweeting: 'This is vile and wrong. It is never funny to joke about killing a president
Even former first daughter Chelsea Clinton was quick to express her outrage at Griffin tweeting: 'This is vile and wrong. It is never funny to joke about killing a president
Griffin's long-time co-host Anderson Cooper also criticized her on Twitter
Griffin's long-time co-host Anderson Cooper also criticized her on Twitter
As for Griffin, Sheilds said he had spoken to his friend and subject and that the two were good in the wake of the photo shoot.
He then wrapped things up by stating: 'I'm just going to go home and eat my ice cream.'
In footage of the shoot, Griffin is seen joking that she and Shields will have to flee the country once it gets out.
'We have to move to Mexico today,' she said, 'because we're gonna go to prison. Federal prison.
'Call your dad, apologize, then let's you [and me] go to Mexico because we're not surviving this.'
She's seen in the footage lifting the grisly 'head' out of a metal bowl, then rotating it towards the camera until it hits a spot that Shields likes.
Finally, at Shields' demand, she drops it to the ground.
In the video, Griffin also joked: 'Tyler and I are not afraid to do images that make noise. And also he often lights me to the point where I look about 15.
'But first I'm an artist. But really it's good lighting.'
Griffin apologized on Tuesday for posting the video following a furious backlash and a hint at an investigation by Secret Service, which has now been confirmed.
The controversial entertainer tweeted: 'I am sorry. I went too far. I was wrong.'
