Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

UPDATED: Heads Will Roll: Kathy Griffin in Hot Water for Decapitated Donald Photo

The past 24 hours has been a true rollercoaster for Kathy Griffin, who wanted nothing more than to tweet out a picture of herself holding a replica of Donald Trump’s bloody head in peace. Unfortunately, she got much more than the laugh she was hoping for. Conservatives and liberals alike lashed out at the comedian for the image and, although she quickly deleted the tweet and offered up a video apology in its place, it doesn’t look like the backlash will be subsiding any time soon.

Both a representative for CNN and Anderson Cooper condemned the shoot. Cooper called it “disgusting and completely inappropriate” in a tweet and CNN said it would be cutting ties completely with Griffin. That means CNN’s famous New Year’s Eve special will be airing this year minus one Kathy Griffin.

But a severed relationship (pun absolutely intended) with CNN might be the least of Griffin’s concerns. TMZ reports that the gruesome photo shoot has captured the attention of the Secret Service, who are now investigating Griffin for her indiscretion.

Griffin may be sorry but what’s unclear is whether the apology will be enough to save her career.

Becky Scott is the editor of The Schmooze. Follow her on Twitter at @arr_scott

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.