Entertainment

Kathy Griffin promises to ‘not hold back’ on comedy world tour

The comedian will be touring to perform in London, Scotland and Ireland.
The comedian will be touring to perform in London, Scotland and Ireland. The comedian will be touring to perform in London, Scotland and Ireland.

US comedian Kathy Griffin has said she is “absolutely against Brexit” and promised UK audiences she will “not hold back” when she heads here on her world tour later this year.

Griffin, 56, made headlines in May following a photo and 12-second video clip showing her clutching what appeared to be American President Donald Trump’s bloody, severed head.

She apologised on social media and later during a press conference and photographer Tyler Shields removed their collaboration from the web.

Kathy Griffin promises to ‘not hold back’ on comedy world tour
Kathy Griffin promises to ‘not hold back’ on comedy world tour
(Kathy Griffin)

Her Kathy Griffin: Laugh Your Head Off tour will see her perform at the London Palladium on November 10 and she will travel to Ireland and Scotland.

She said: “I’m so thrilled to be coming on this world tour and it was the picture that started it all.”

The comedian, who holds two Emmys and a Grammy, said UK politics would feature in her routines as she revealed she would support Labour if she was a British citizen.

She told Press Association: “I mean, I am absolutely against Brexit. I’m not a fan of Theresa May, I’m sorry to say that as a woman, I’m sorry if that makes me a bad feminist, but she is too conservative for me.

“If I was a (British citizen) I would be Labour I think. I wouldn’t be Tory that’s for sure, I’d be more Labour.

“I think like a lot of progressive Americans I feel Angela Merkel (German chancellor) is leading the way. She’s the closest thing, I’m just a giant Barack Obama fan, and I feel like she’s the closest thing we have to somebody with that kind of mind set, which in my opinion, we desperately need.”

Griffin, who also holds a Guinness World Record holder for the most televised comedy specials by any comedian in history, said the aftermath of the Trump photograph was “nuts”.

Venues across the US cancelled her shows and US news network CNN announced they were cutting links with her in the weeks following the controversy.

The 18th Annual Sir Elton John Oscar Party – Los Angeles
The 18th Annual Sir Elton John Oscar Party – Los Angeles
Kathy Griffin arriving for The 18th annual Elton John Aids Foundation Party (PA)

Griffin’s lawyer also later revealed she was being investigated by the Secret Service over the controversial photo shoot.

She said: “I had this press conference which was a day later and it was a s*** fest. It was a disaster.

“I was crying and then everyone just came after me harder, so I went, OK, f*** honesty, I’m just going to start writing material and just go by this day by day and write down everything, and sure enough, as has happened my whole career, crazy s***, sometimes painful s*** can be turned into funny s***.

“And that’s what I want to do.

“I’m excited to hit the stage at the Palladium. I’m still so toxic and shunned in America, I don’t have a publicist, I don’t have an agent, I’m just doing the whole thing myself.

“We are just taking the world by storm, whether the Trumps like it or not, and I can’t wait to hit the stage because I want to tell everybody what it was like to go through that interrogation.

The Graham Norton Show
The Graham Norton Show
Kathy Griffin on The Graham Norton show in 2011 (PA)

“And how whether you like the photo or not, you shouldn’t have the entire country think it is possible that you have joined Isis.

“There were Americans who thought I was in Isis… that’s how crazy s*** got here and it’s still crazy for me here.

“My sister, who has cancer, got death threats because she’s my sister, my mom who is 97, she got death threats. These hardcore Trump fans will track you down and they will find you.”

She also revealed she was a fan of the Royal Family and recalled meeting Prince Charles during a visit to Buckingham Palace with her friend, the late comedian Joan Rivers.

She said: “When Joan Rivers took me to Buckingham Palace as her guest, and she introduced me to, as she called them Chuck and Camilla, Prince Charles leaned into me and said: ‘If it weren’t for journalists and comedians who would keep us honest?’ I loved that line, I don’t care if he meant it or not, I live it.”

The TV personality said during her tour she would be telling all about what it’s like living next to her famous neighbours: Kim Kardashian West and her husband, rapper Kanye West.

MTV Video Music Awards 2016 – Arrivals – New York
MTV Video Music Awards 2016 – Arrivals – New York
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West (PA)

Asked if Kim had provided support to her, she said: “Kim is praying for me, I’m not a religious person but I’ll take it at this point. I think a little benefit is, I think the Kardashians used to hate me and then they realised I was harmless. So I think we have a nice neighbourly relationship.”

She added of her upcoming tour: “I can’t wait to give people a break, so just come and laugh your head off, and just have fun because it’s all so nuts.”

:: The Laugh Your Head Off tour hits the London Palladium on November 10 and tickets can be bought on www.KathyGriffin.com