But then life got tough, really tough. Aside from her well-publicized feud with ex-President Trump, the last few years have brought on a grand slam of not-so-good things, including divorce, a pill addiction and lung cancer. And it all started with a little sarcastic photo she posted — as a joke — in 2017, depicting Griffin holding a bloody model of Trump's head. This silly stunt led to her being banned, terminated from CNN and put on the no-fly and Interpol lists.
"I was blacklisted by my own community; I lost most of my friends," Griffin says. "That was just a bizarre experience that has a place in history that is rather dubious but has never happened to a comedian in the history of the country — even the great Lenny Bruce and George Carlin. I didn't know what I was going to do with myself, so I just sat around the house because I'm a happy workaholic. I have the greatest job in the world, making people laugh, and I'm not precious about that. I don't care if it's on tour, a reality show or a commercial. And to be robbed of that was just fucking weird."
Resilient, Griffin set to work trying to turn lemons into lemonade by taking her act on the road internationally, a tour captured in the 2019 film A Hell of A Story. By the end, she felt a triumph of sorts. Then, her beloved mom passed away during the pandemic, and she became addicted to pills, leading to Griffin's suicide attempt and being placed on a psychiatric hold for evaluation.
"I'm not going to act like I handled it well," Griffin says. "I admit I became addicted to pills, which is even funny because who the hell becomes a junkie at 57? I take every pill I have lying around the house, I get suicidal ideations, which is funny because it's real and raw. All I know how to do is talk about shit. Even my suicide attempt is so over the top I'm like Kanye and Britney combined. I walked into my own act."
On top of all of that, this life-long nonsmoker got diagnosed with cancer, an experience that led to the removal of half of her left lung, leaving her voice slightly higher and squeakier. Still, there's been no slowdown of pace or wit. Griffin has sarcastically turned those years of personal tragedy into comedy gold in her first stage show in over six years, My Life on the PTSD List, which comes to the Majestic Theater on April 17 at 8 p.m.
PTSD, Addiction, Recovery: Let's Laugh Anyway
Titled as a funny callback to fans of her late-noughties reality series My Life on the D List, Griffin's new show draws heavily on her past few tough years. The tour will take her all over the United States, allowing Griffin to explore subjects like addiction and recovery along with her classic celebrity anecdotes. "I have so much new material," she promises. "Everything from a vacation I took with Sia and everything went wrong, and it's just hilarious, to Paris Hilton's Christmas party. If Trump said something particularly crazy that day, I might spend a minute, but when I come to Dallas, I'd rather spend the first 10 minutes making fun of you to your face. I have people coming to Dallas who are going to see me for the ninth time, and I'm so appreciative. I'm going to give them 100 percent."
She'll probably lob a few Elon Musk's way (she has an ongoing feud with him, too), but Griffin promises to keep things light and lively.
"I do two hours. I do realize people have to go to the bathroom," she quips. "But if it were up to me, I'd do five hours solid."
Admittedly, Griffin is still in a "class all my own," and not just because of her high-profile arguments. Since the beginning, the comedian has written all her own jokes — no staff required and no openers, either. While misogyny still rules the comedy circuit, Griffin continues to do her best to inspire the next generation of funny ladies.
"I'll do it so the younger girls have some fucking hope," she says. "The times that I felt hopeful the last six and half years, I thought about Joan (Rivers) and Phyllis (Diller) and Moms Mabley and Totie Fields, and I think about the great sidekicks like Ethel from I Love Lucy and Rhoda from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. They never really got their due, but they inspired the fuck out of me. I'm in the Guinness Book of World Records for having more televised specials than any other comedian, and I want some young comedian to come up on that stage and think, 'I'm going to work harder.'"
In the meantime, Griffin still has a lot more to do. She has just negotiated the return of the D-List series to Paramount+. She recently filmed a serious role (one, she hopes, of many) in a friend's short feature. And she's ready to set a record by playing Carnegie Hall for the sixth time —the most by any female comedian. And one thing's for sure: Griffin won't be intimidated by any man in the process.
"I am irreverent and sarcastic and, honey, I don't know any other way to do it," Griffin says. "Trump's going to keep going after me — it's an election year, so it's going get worse, but it's not going to scare me away. He's already tried to take me out. Cancer didn't take me out, my addiction didn't take me out, my mom dying didn't take me out, so I'm sure not letting that fool take me out."
Kathy Griffin brings her show My Life on the PTSD List to the Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St., on April 17. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the 8 p.m. show. Tickets start at $49.50.
