Comedienne Kathy Griffin played into a little 2017 nostalgia this week when she shared a photoshopped image of prosecutor Jack Smith holding a severed head of former President Donald Trump.
The image took Griffin’s infamous 2017 photo that featured her holding the bloodied head of the former president and replaced the faces with Jack Smith and a stunned Trump, lending to its more farcical appearance. Take a look:
Jack Smith has brought two indictments against Trump — one for his alleged mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and the other for his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Griffin posted the photo months after she said she has an extreme case of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that arose shortly after her cancelation resulting from her photograph of holding a model of Trump’s bloodied severed head. Griffin revealed her struggle with mental health in an Instagram video in which she used a blurred filter that she said reflected how she feels internally.
“I put this effect on because it kind of shows how I’m feeling,” she said in the post.
Griffin said she did not know if Instagram would be the appropriate place to bare her thoughts on the matter and decided to share for the good of others.
“I have been diagnosed with complex PTSD and for the last year and a half I have been plagued with terrifying panic attacks,” she said. “Sometimes they last a few hours or more typically, they last at least a full day if not multiple days in a row. I feel silly even telling you this because I always thought PTSD was just for veterans and stuff. During my attacks, I typically vomit quite a bit and often have to go to the ER just to get IV fluids. Anybody else?”
Prior to that, Griffin said in a TikTok video that she had an eight-hour panic attack.
“I had a freaking eight-hour attack yesterday. Eight hours of freaking writhing in pain in the bed,” Griffin said. “I felt like one might be coming on, so I started to feel a little iffy. So I’m on my walk now … which is helpful.”
Sometimes her panic attacks have tremendous effects on her physically.
“It hits me in my chest first, like my chest starts to tingle. Then it goes right to my stomach,” she said in another TikTok video
Kathy Griffin told ABC News’ Nightline in 2021 that she struggled with drug addiction and contemplated suicide following the intense backlash from her 2017 photo that featured her holding a severed head of then-President Trump.
Kathy Griffin blames Donald Trump for beheading photo backlash (Getty/TMZ)
“To be told by people in my own industry, ‘It’s over. Leave the country for five years. You’ve shamed our industry,’ on and on and on. It definitely got to me,” she said in the interview. “And so, I got to the point where I kind of agreed. Like, maybe it is time for me to go, and I’ve had a great life, and I don’t think there’s a next chapter for me.”
Last election cycle, Griffin stumped heavily for Democrats, even going as far as to say that “civil war” would erupt if Republicans won the midterm elections.
“If you don’t want a Civil War, vote for Democrats in November. If you do want Civil War, vote Republican,” she tweeted in September.
In a later tweet, Griffin responded to Breitbart News reporter Kristina Wong and denied that she was threatening violence.
“You guys. The maga blue checks are at it again. Because they are constantly threatening Civil War, they are now trying to suggest that I am the one who is threatening a Civil War. Because you know, that’s my thing,” she added.
In 2020, Griffin also advocated for physical violence against Trump by suggesting that someone use a syringe on him “with the air inside” — a potentially lethal act.
“Syringe with nothing but air inside would do the trick. FUCK TRUMP,” she tweeted.
Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.