Kathy Griffin was 'straight-up begging' for work after Trump beheading photo stunt left her 'unemployable'

The comedian revealed how she struggled to find work as she opened up about her 90-second cameo as herself on the Netflix psychological thriller 'You'.  
PUBLISHED JAN 19, 2020
Kathy Griffin (L) President Donald Trump (R) (Getty Images)
Kathy Griffin (L) President Donald Trump (R) (Getty Images)

Actress and comedienne Kathy Griffin, who was widely criticized after posing for a photo holding President Donald Trump’s bloody and decapitated head, has now admitted she resorted to "straight-up begging" for work following the stunt. Speaking to USA Today, Griffin revealed how she struggled to find work as she opened up about her 90-second cameo as herself on the Netflix psychological thriller 'You'.  

“I straight up was just begging for five lines on something that would be seen by people that had nothing to do with Trump, nothing that was controversial,” she said. Griffin recalled how showrunner Greg Berlanti finally agreed to give her the cameo because of all she had done for LGBT rights.

“You showrunner (Greg Berlanti) called me up, he was so nice he said, you know he’s a gay guy, he said, ‘You know Kathy after all you’ve done for the community, all these decades I’m happy to do this for you,'” she explained. Griffin is now trying to secure roles by contacting executive producers and showrunners on social media as she is no longer represented by an agent.

"I'm certainly learning how to do more things, as they say, 'in house,' and (it's) one of the things that I became proactive about after the Trump scandal because it's kind of like Hollywood feels like I have something that they're going to catch... People don't want to get Kathy Griffin-ed," she said.

Griffin said she had become a different person as a result of the harrowing experience last year that left her "unemployable and uninsurable."

“While the picture has caused me a lot of duress it’s also made me global, everybody knows the crazy red-haired lady from the photo,” she said. “It has made me more fearless and I really feel strongly that whoever comes at me, they have to understand I’ve prevailed against the president of the United States.” Nonetheless, the 59-year-old entertainer is still determined to continue railing against Trump. 

“I’m not going to stop; I’m not going to back down from this president or this administration one bit, and they know it,” she warned.

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