Kathy Griffin Shares What's Standing in the Way of Her Comeback
Kathy Griffin is ready to be uncanceled and back into the public's good graces, and she is convinced a comedy special is the way to do it.
In a profile in The Hollywood Reporter, the legendary funny redhead shared her signature wit on everything from Barbra Streisand's memoir to getting back to regularly doing comedy shows.
"So far, it's just a lot about food," said Griffin, about Streisand's memoir during a listening of the audiobook.
However, her thoughts on her comedy career were a little more complicated.
"It does make me feel that, in Hollywood, I'm still canceled if I can't make a deal for a special," said Griffin. "People tell me that the same thing happened to me and Gina Carano." But she doesn't appreciate the comparisons to other celebrities who have fallen out of the limelight.
"Please don't liken Kathy Griffin taking a protest photo to a Holocaust denier. I did not whip out my penis like Louis [C.K.]. I wasn't canceled. I was investigated by the Department of Justice for something I don't regret," said Griffin about taking photos with a bloody replica of former President Donald Trump's head.
In the time since, Griffin said she was added to the No-Fly list, lost $1 million to legal fees, and became addicted to OxyContin and benzodiazepines. She also attempted suicide. But after a battle with lung cancer and losing use of a vocal chord in surgery to treat her cancer, she is still kicking.
"I've never met anyone as interested in performing as Kathy," Rosie O'Donnell told THR. "And she's performing this act with a new vulnerability and honesty that I think helps audiences have a better understanding of who she is. She's not just making fun of celebrities."
If only she could sell the special so the public can see how much she has changed.
"There's not going to be a special," said Griffin. "Everyone's passed." But things have a way of quickly changing in Hollywood.
Read the D-List star's full interview.