Kathy Griffin still has to pass on death threats to the FBI provoked by her controversial Donald Trump photo shoot.
Kathy Griffin
Last May, the 57-year-old comedian-and-actress took part in a shoot with photographer Tyler Shields in which she posed with a bloody decapitated head resembling President Trump.
When the image was unveiled it sparked numerous complaints from the American public and many of Kathy's celebrity peers, including Debra Messing who compared it to "when people lynched Obama effigies" and her long-time friend and colleague Anderson Cooper who tweeted that it was "disgusting and completely inappropriate".
Kathy was even placed under federal investigation by the Secret Service because of the photo shoot, but was "completely exonerated" in July 2017.
The stunt cost the stand-up comic a number of jobs and bookings, with numerous venues cancelling her gigs because of death threats made against Kathy and the chilling attacks continue to this day and the most serious are looked at by FBI officers as they are deemed to be a "credible threat".
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she said: "There's a pile that we think is harmless. And a pile that's questionable. And then there's a pile that the FBI says you put in a Ziploc bag and give to them. That's my life now.
"I don't blame the theatre owners [that cancelled me]. These are theatres that are normally playing 'Mamma Mia!' or 'Stomp', and all of a sudden they're getting calls saying they're going to 'shoot her in the **** live on stage.' That was the most common threat. And that they were going to 'cut my head off and stuff it up my ****'."
Kathy remembers being interrogated by two Secret Service officers, one male and one female, at her home and even a piece of memorabilia she was given for hosting the Gay Porn Awards raised suspicion when she was asked if she kept any weapons in her house.
She shared: "I said, 'No. Oh, well, I have a sword. It's huge.' And my lawyers looked at me like, 'What are you doing?' The agents got very interested and were like, 'What is it for?' And I was like, 'It's not for anything. I got it when I hosted the Gay Porn Awards.' And I have to say, the guy smirked. He was like, 'Tell me more about the sword.' I was like, 'Well, it's big. You know the gays!' And then it was like, 'No more sword-asking questions.' "
The 'Fashion Police' star became a pariah in her native America for most of 2017 and had to go overseas to continue her stand-up career and she thinks it is unfair that's she's been blacklisted for making a political joke when some celebrities have committed actual crimes.
Katy - who is in a long-term relationship with her tour manager Randy Bick - said: "I didn't commit a crime. I didn't rape anybody. I didn't assault anybody. I didn't get a DUI. I mean, my God, there are celebrities that f***ing kill people."
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