Jim Carrey's words of wisdom were the silver lining for comedian Kathy Griffin during hibernation
Comedian Kathy Griffin was one of the most condemned stars in America after a photo surfaced of the 57-year-old posing with a replica of President Donald Trump‘s bloodied, decapitated head in her hand last May.
Ever since, she lost income, received death threats, was denounced by Trump, landed on an Interpol criminal list and was afraid to leave her home. She said she was under investigation by the Department of Justice for two months.
But silver lining came into her life with one advice from an actor she least expected: Jim Carrey. In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Griffin said that while many colleagues (including her longtime friend Anderson Cooper) turned away, one celebrity reached out. And Carrey was someone she didn’t know that well.
“It was really meaningful to me that he called,” she said. “Jim’s advice was right on, which is, ‘Lean into this topic and you’ll find the comedy.’ And luckily I found a lot of comedy while hibernating,” she added.
Some funny stuff inadvertently came from her mother, who said she was watching TV with the sound off and believed her daughter had joined ISIS. “I don’t think they’re recruiting 57-year-old Irish-American comedians,” Griffin cracked. “I don’t think I would do very well in the training camps. I’ve seen those videos.”
So Carrey's advice on finding humor in absurd situation indeed help her as she’s moving forward with her professional life. The 56-year-old Carrey on the other hand has been finding his own way to get into politics lately: through his art. Recently, the actor has been using social media to share some of his sketches of Trump and his administration, which have generated a lot of attention.
The “Suddenly Susan” and “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List” star was unable to tour in the United States, so she went overseas, performing in 23 cities in 15 countries.
This summer she plans to tour in Mexico, Canada and the United States, including stops in San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Chicago and a sold-out gig at Carnegie Hall in New York. The tour name alone is defiant — “The Laugh Your Head Off World Tour.”
“I’m trying to sort of get people to forgive me and get people to come back to me or give me a chance,” she said. “And it’s interesting. It’s really like I’m starting all over again.”During the darkest of times, Griffin admits she felt like “the most reviled person in the world."
But while she gears for her rebirth into the world of comedy, she warns; “I really do believe if it happened to me it can happen to you.”