Kathy Griffin Apologizes for Trump Beheading Photo: ‘I Went Way Too Far’

Hours after imagery of her holding a bloody, severed head made up to look like President Donald Trump hit the internet, the comedian posted a video on Twitter apologizing for her actions. “I sincerely apologize,” Griffin says to the camera, noting that she is “just now” seeing the strong reaction to the images. “I’m a comic. I cross the line. I move the line and then I cross it. I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people. It wasn’t funny, I get it. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career. I’ve asked your forgiveness, taking down the image. I’m going to ask the photographer to take down the image. And I beg for your forgiveness. I went too far. I made a mistake and I was wrong.” That statement follows the more glib, dismissive—and since deleted—statement Griffin put out when she first shared video from the photo shoot on Twitter earlier in the afternoon. “I caption this ‘there was blood coming out of his eyes, blood coming out of his... wherever’” she wrote initially, adding, “OBVIOUSLY, I do not condone ANY violence by my fans or others to anyone, ever! I’m merely mocking the Mocker in Chief.” CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Griffin’s co-host for the network’s New Year’s Eve show each year, said Tuesday that he was “appalled” by the photo, adding it was “clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate.” In a statement, CNN similarly condemned the image and said the network was “evaluating” its New Years Eve programming.

— Matt Wilstein