by andrew j stillman
Being a comedienne isn’t usually synonymous with landing yourself on terror watch and under federal investigation — unless, of course, your name is Kathy Griffin.
Griffin has remained mainly out of the public eye for a little over half a decade after a joke of her holding the bloody head of then-President Donald J. Trump backfired and led to her cancellation, a public fallout, and an international investigation.
“I was investigated by the Department of Justice,” she tells The RAGE Monthly. “I was put on the INTERPOL list, put on the Five Eyes list… Once you’re on the terror watch list, try traveling anywhere.”
She describes harrowing experiences about being detained in airports globally from Singapore to Los Angeles. “Imagine trying to explain to the Singaporean authorities that I’ve got a room full of gays waiting for me. It’s illegal to be gay there, so I’d have to warn them they might find a bunch of men wearing feather boas.”
To add salt to the wound, Griffin’s lungs went off, and she got cancer despite her having never smoked. She now operates her spitfire standup with only half a lung on her left side.
All of this, and more, gets detailed in Griffin’s current standup, My Life on the PTSD List, which marks her first time hitting the stage since everything went down.
“I thought I would never be allowed to perform again,” Griffin says, highlighting her recent return to a sold-out show at Carnegie Hall. After the performance and a standing ovation, she admits she got on her hands and knees to kiss the stage. “I’m bragging like a braggadocious asshole, but I don’t care,” she says, and it’s hard not to celebrate with her.
Her return to the stage has been both triumphant and challenging. Some cities and venues welcome her back with open arms, while others refuse to book her. Even major talk shows remain divided, but that hasn’t done much to deter her from filling theaters with devoted fans ready to laugh, listen, and show their unwavering support — especially with her gays.
“I’m looking for a homosexual knitting circle. Can you help me?” she jokes, hopeful her show in San Diego is full of her gaggle rather than those who still adamantly oppose her.
However, those expecting Griffin to home in on the Trump fallout can let that thought go — she doesn’t even mention his name once throughout the set. Instead, she dives into her personal battles with her health but promises the heavy topics won’t block out her humor and spirit.
“Not even lung cancer can hold me back,” she says, though it still plays a key part in her journey. The process injured her vocal cords, leaving her with a high-pitched, raspy, and often strained voice. One of Griffin’s closest friends, the iconic Sia, eventually set her in the right direction to find a doctor capable of performing vocal cord implants.
“It really is the reason I got my voice back,” she says, noting she only had the procedure done a mere 10 weeks ago. “My whole life changed overnight. Now I can go back to doing what I love — yelling at people and using my voice to advocate, provoke, and, of course, entertain.”
This driving force paves the way for Griffin’s resilience in handling the hatred directed at her. She’s faced a barrage of threats and protests, including a line of MAGA lovers holding her bloody head outside of her show in a mockery of what got her canceled in the first place.
When asked how she deals with the hatred, she says, “I put it in my act because I’m such a whore that I’ll use anything for material.”
She details protestors using cheap Ariel wigs from The Little Mermaid to mock her signature red hair and frequent Long Islander protester Vinny Bucha, whom she says she’s grown fond of. “He’s very committed,” she says. “He’s come to several shows, but he never comes inside. I’d like to see him try—the lesbians would eat him alive.”
Beyond comedy, Griffin is also candid about her fears for the future of America, especially regarding the LGBTQ+ community. “I fear that it’s not going to be safe to be openly gay and walk down the street in America,” she says, her voice momentarily losing its usual comedic edge. “We’re taking a big step back, and now is the time for the community to come together and revisit the grassroots activism of the Stonewall days to ensure the safety and visibility of LGBTQ+ individuals. We just have to stay in it together. There’s nothing we can’t do when we unite.”
With that in mind, she also emphasizes that her shows are designed to be safe spaces for people who feel threatened by the current political climate to laugh and let off steam. The show tackles serious topics like addiction, cancer, and political oppression but is sprinkled with the hilarious celebrity anecdotes her fans have come to know and love.
She also details her unconventional coping mechanisms with PTSD, saying, “One of them is that I have to get on all fours and meow like a kitty cat, and then I’m supposed to moo like a cow. It’s supposed to ‘moo’ve the energy, but it hasn’t done shit.”
If you’re ready to laugh along during My Life on the PTSD list, catch Kathy Griffin at The Balboa Theater on Saturday, November 29. Go to sandiegotheatres.org
