- Title: Comedian Kathy Griffin addresses fake Trump head controversy
- Date: 2nd June 2017
- Summary: WOODLAND HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 2, 2017) (REUTERS) NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) COMEDIAN KATHY GRIFFIN, SAYING: "Like I said it is quite clear to me that they're trying to use me as a distraction and I'm not going to be collateral damage for this fool, I think he's a fool so I'm going to say that I think the president is a fool, you know, I can say that. (REPORTER OFF CAMERA ASKS: DO YOU FEAR FOR YOU CAREER AFTER THIS?) Absolutely, I don't think I'll have a career after this. I think he ... I'm going to be honest, he broke me, he broke me, he broke me. And then I was like no, this isn't right. It's just not right, and I apologized because that was the right thing to do, and I meant it. And then I saw the tide turning and I saw what they were doing and I went oh, they're trying to spin this and they're making it about Barron (Trump) and obviously that was never my intent and I would never want to hurt anyone less a child but I started to see what was really happening and then it was a mom-mentality pile-on and so many people have expressed to me personally across the country at my shows, they're scared, so yeah I don't know if I'm going to get arrested today, I don't know, but I have to stand up." END OF NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 16th June 2017 18:08
- Keywords: CNN news conference severed head comedian Donald Trump Lisa Bloom Trump Kathy Griffin
- Location: WOODLAND HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- City: WOODLAND HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA0016JL770N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Comedian Kathy Griffin, who posed with a fake bloodied and severed head depicting U.S. President Donald Trump, held a news conference in Los Angeles on Friday (June 2) to discuss her reasons for participating in the photo shoot.
Griffin lost sponsorships and jobs, including her role as co-host of CNN's New Year's Eve coverage with journalist Anderson Cooper, after a photograph and video from the shoot appeared on social media on Tuesday.
Griffin has teamed up with civil rights lawyer Lisa Bloom in the wake of the controversy, which immediately drew calls from Trump's eldest son for employers to drop the Grammy Award-winning comedian.
Bloom is the daughter of high-profile feminist lawyer Gloria Allred.
Griffin apologized in a video posted to Twitter hours after celebrity news website TMZ published a picture from the shoot with photographer Tyler Shields and an accompanying video.
Trump said the image of Griffin with the gory mask resembling him was "sick" and had traumatized his family, especially his youngest son, 11-year-old Barron.
The U.S. Secret Service, which is responsible for presidential security, has opened an inquiry into the posting of Griffin posing with the severed-head replica. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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