03 June, 2017
Standing in front of a packed room of reporters and cameras in Woodland Hills, Griffin and her lawyer Lisa Bloom confirmed that Griffin was under investigation by the Secret Service over the incident.
Kathy Griffin, the American comedian who sparked outrage by staging a photoshoot with Donald Trump's severed head, has accused the president of trying to destroy her.
Griffin said five of her stand-up gigs have also been canceled in wake of the backlash. Squatty Potty, which had previously announced a partnership with Griffin, announced Wednesday it had dropped her as a spokeswoman.
Griffin, though, said she doesn't plan to back down. The image is too disturbing, I understand how it offends people, it wasn't amusing, I get it.
She also said she thinks all of this is happening because she is a woman and that it wouldn't have happened to a male comedian.
CNN anchor Cooper wrote a Tweet condemning the photo, which he called "disgusting and completely inappropriate".
Bloom explained that the idea for the provocative image came from when Trump slammed former Fox News host Megyn Kelly over her line of questioning at a debate, saying, "You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes ... blood coming out of her wherever".
Venues in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania have canceled shows.
Trump responded to Griffin on Twitter writing, "Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself".
To top it off, Griffin was even contacted by the secret service to inquire about the comic's intentions, forcing her to retain a criminal attorney.
Following the scandal, Griffin was sacked from CNN, where she has hosted New Year's Eve Live with network anchor Anderson Cooper since 2007.
"Kathy never imagined it could be misinterpreted as a threat of violence against Trump".
Her attorney, Lisa Bloom, said the comedian has a First Amendment right to make fun of the president.
At points the 56-year-old comedian broke into tears as she spoke about how she felt her career had been ruined by the debacle.
She said: "I'm not laying down for this guy".
'I've dealt with older white guys trying to keep me down my whole career'.
Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor, told CBS2 this week that while the grotesque image does go too far, it will likely not land Griffin in jail.
However, Griffin claimed that now, because of a mistake she made, Mr. Trump and his team have a sexist vendetta against her.
