Comedian Kathy Griffin Under Fire For Beheading Donald Trump In Shocking Photo Shoot
PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) -- Kathy Griffin has never been one to shy away from controversy.
The comedian has ignited a social media firestorm after a video surfaced of her holding a bloody head that resembles President Trump.
Griffin did the photoshoot with celebrity photographer Tyler Shields and it's raising a lot of eyebrows.
In photos leaked on Tuesday, Griffin portrays a bloody scene. She looks to be holding a fake severed head.
Griffin took to Twitter to defend the photoshoot, saying "I do not condone ANY violence by my fans or others to anyone, ever. I'm merely mocking the Mocker in Chief."
Those tweets have since been deleted, and they didn't stop critics from condemning the comedian online.
Many have been calling for the Secret Service to investigate the video.
The Secret Service wasted no time in putting out a statement after the video first surfaced.
Later Tuesday, Griffin posted a video apologizing for the video image, saying it was "too disturbing" and wasn't funny.
Griffin says in her apology video that she has asked the photographer to remove the images and begs her fans for forgiveness. Griffin says she made a mistake, went too far and was wrong.
The president himself responded to the photoshoot on Twitter, saying "My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this."
CBS News reports that First Lady Melania Trump released the following statement:
"As a mother, a wife, and a human being, that photo is very disturbing. When you consider some of the atrocities happening in the world today, a photo opportunity like this is simply wrong and makes you wonder about the mental health of the person who did it."
CNN announced Wednesday afternoon that they would be cutting ties with Griffin, who co-hosted the network's New Year's Eve program with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.
Cooper himself said he was "appalled" by the photoshoot, calling it "clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate."
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(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
