Casino Cancels Kathy Griffin Show Over Trump Beheading Shoot
LOS ANGELES - (Associated Press) - Kathy Griffin says she went way too far when she appeared in a brief video Tuesday holding what looked like President Donald Trump's bloody, severed head.
The comic posted a video later Tuesday apologizing for the video image, saying it was "too disturbing" and wasn't funny.
"I sincerely apologize," she said. "I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people."
Scroll Down For More…
The first video showed a straight-faced Griffin slowly lifting the bloody head. She originally described the project with photographer Tyler Shields as an "artsy fartsy statement" mocking the commander in chief.
Many online called for Griffin to be jailed.
Griffin was scheduled to perform at Route 66 Casino near Albuquerque on July 22, but the casino wrote on Twitter it cancelled that show.
The July 22nd performance by Kathy Griffin has been cancelled.
— Route 66 Casino (@RT66CasinoHotel) May 30, 2017
"We received an overwhelming negative response from our customers and associates to the widely circulated photograph Ms. Griffin posted on social media," Route 66 General Manager Tim Perkins said in a statement. After evaluating the incident we decided it was in the best interests of our business and our customers to cancel the show."
Route 66 said anyone who purchased tickets to the Kathy Griffin event will receive a full refund.
In her apology video, Griffin begs her fans for forgiveness and says she has asked the photographer to remove the images.
"I made a mistake, and I was wrong," she says.
I am sorry. I went too far. I was wrong. pic.twitter.com/LBKvqf9xFB
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) May 30, 2017
The video had apparently been removed from Shields' blog by late Tuesday.
CNN, whose New Year's Eve coverage Griffin has co-hosted, called the images "disgusting and offensive."
"We are pleased to see she has apologized," CNN said in a statement. "We are evaluating New Year's Eve and have made no decisions at this point."
A publicist for Shields did not respond to a request for comment.
