After a six-year exile, comedian Kathy Griffin is unapologetically back, bitches

Kathy Griffin. // Photo by Jen Rosenstein

Don’t call it a comeback—she’s been here for years. 

Of course, we’re talking about the infamous and legendary comedian Kathy Griffin, who is gleefully emerging from exile after a tumultuous six-year period of cancellation. 

The acerbic actress recently announced that in early February she’ll embark on a whirlwind 40 city stand-up tour that kicks off in Des Moines. Her third show out of the gate is right here in Kansas City on February 4 at the Uptown Theater. 

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the sordid tale of how the outspoken comic went from D-list to the No Fly List practically overnight when she was photographed holding a ketchup-covered mask resembling a beheaded Donald Trump back in 2017. The shocking piece of performance art didn’t just land her in the doghouse, it almost instantaneously sank her career, which included being the subject of a vicious Department of Justice federal investigation. 

What followed was a downward spiral of opioid addiction, a suicide attempt, and a seemingly out-of-the-blue lung cancer diagnosis. Warts and all, Griffin kept chronicling her (mis)adventures and writing material, including how she started coping with a wicked PTSD diagnosis. Through it all, she rediscovered humor was both a lifesaver and her saving grace, figuratively and literally. “I gotta laugh at all of it, because why not?” she quips. 

We caught up with the take-no-prisoners storyteller at her house in Malibu, where she proudly—and unapologetically—exclaimed, “I’m back, baby!” when we likened her to the proverbial Phoenix rising from the ashes. 

The Pitch: First, let’s briefly re-hash Thanksgiving. How was it? How’s my boyfriend Lance Bass? And what side dish did you bring?

Kathy Griffin: He is ready to leave his husband for you—and I can help arrange that. And the side dish we brought is, my husband who cooks made gluten-free—because, you know, the gays—gluten-free banana bread with chocolate chips. And, by the way, it’s really chocolate chip bread with, like, a hint of banana, but we call it banana bread. 

I feel like your Thanksgiving with Lance Bass has been a tradition since… 

Like, since the early 2000s. I love to tell ‘em I’ve known Lance since he was straight. So, get this—before we went to Lance’s, we went to Sia’s house. The fucking singer. That was magical and get this shit—she had a petting zoo. Sia had a petting zoo because she invites children—which, of course, I don’t approve of, but I can’t stop her. So, for the kids, she had a freakin’ bouncy house and she hired people to play with the kids and teach them games. It was mayhem in that yard. 

And then, she had a choir—and she stole them from Kanye! Which, who doesn’t want to be stolen from Kanye, by the way? Can you imagine? She has some of the choir members that used to be at that Sunday service. And they sing choir songs, not religious songs. They sing 80s hits and then Sia sings along with them. She doesn’t sing “Chandelier.” She doesn’t sing “Titanium.” None of her own hits, but she can sing anything. And I am proud she is my friend. You know she came to both of my first shows back, which were at The Mirage in Las Vegas after my, you know, six-year cancellation.

Yes! I read somewhere that your new stand-up tour sort of came together at a moment’s notice. Have you been waiting patiently for all the planets to align like this?

Oh, yeah. I’ve been writing stuff this whole time. Because I’ve been doing it for so many decades, I can’t help but look at everything through the prism of what will be funny for the act. Honestly, it’s just pitiful. I’ve been taking my little notes this whole time, waiting for Hollywood to get over themselves and come back to me. And, no joke, I just got a manager two or three months ago and then they got me an agent a couple of weeks later. 

And then this tour was just routed a month ago. It was, like, get it together. And so, all I have is the voice of my social media—God help us all!—and I’m so thrilled to be playing 40 fucking cities.

Looking back over the last few years—can you pinpoint the high-iest of highs and low-iest of lows? Because you’ve been on a perpetual rollercoaster for a while now. 

Oh, yeah. I talk about all this in my new show—and that’s why I called it “My Life on the PTSD List.” I don’t have an opener. I don’t have five openers, like some comics. Like, I have too much shit to say. I can’t be sharing my own stage with anybody. [laughs] 

I think most of the folks that buy tickets probably know—well, they all know about the Trump picture because everybody knows about that. But they probably know about my cancer and how my voice is a little higher pitched now. I talk about that part because I didn’t know cancer was accidentally funny. But, let me tell you something—when you have cancer, it’s the great equalizer. And if I’m called Kathie Lee Gifford one more time at a medical office … 

… I’m on the D-list, even in my cancer medical appointments. But I’m cancer-free now. So, I was actually injured during my surgery where they took out half my left lung. Half my left lung—gone. Gone! It’s somewhere in a hazard bin somewhere in Beverly Hills, along with my dignity. And so, I just have to laugh because there’s nothing you can do about it. 

And leave it to me to have no symptoms when I had cancer. And then have a paralyzed left vocal cord when I’m a freaking comic. In 2020, I took, like, 100 Benzos and tried to kill myself. And then I ended up on a 5150 psych hold like Britney. I feel that that gives me some sort of street cred to then do very loving and nurturing material about Britney. And, Michael, don’t act like we’re not worried about Britney.

Agreed. I just got done with Britney Spear’s audiobook. I couldn’t bring myself to actually read the book, so I had to have Michelle Williams recite it to me.

We all have to have Michelle Williams to help us. I didn’t realize how much we needed Michelle Williams to get us through major global events, like Britney’s book. But the shit she talked about Justin? I’m in heaven. I still haven’t forgiven him for Janet Jackson. 

Your gays—including me—have got to be frothing at the mouth that you’re back on the road. Have you been tickled at overall response?

I am over the moon! So, I’ve been really afraid of this sale. And I think it’s been pretty respectable. And the strategy of my agent, I think, is really good—as he considers these to be quote, “secondary markets.” So, when people ask me, “Why aren’t you coming to New York, to D.C., or Chicago?” Then, I’m like, “I have to earn my way back.”

It’s not—I’m not going to DC because I’m afraid of politics or anything, it’s just that I think it’s just good for the show. I think I’ve played all these cities before, but there might be a couple I haven’t played. But some of these cities—like, I’m just thrilled to be going back because I didn’t know if I’d be allowed in Missouri. There are certain states that I’m not sure if they have a statewide ban on me. But I’m just happy to be back in Missouri in any way, shape, or form. 

But to be going back and doing the show is the greatest victory of all because, you know, they really tried to be done with me—the frickin’ Department of Justice, for God’s sake.

Wait! Are you finally, finally off the No Fly List?

Yes, I’m off the No Fly List and I’m taking great advantage of it by doing as many cities as I can. Am I’m going to be filled with joy every time I fly anywhere over anybody at any time.

Is this tour gonna be cathartic? Are there any topics that are off-limits?

Oh, no topics are off limits. But I’ll tell you something interesting. And I swear this isn’t on purpose—and it’s not because I’m afraid of him—but I actually don’t even mention Trump in this new show.

I have no words.

I know! If he does something crazy that day, of course, I’ll bring it up because my show does change every night. And look, I’ve made a whole movie about it called Kathy Griffin: Hell of a Story. Like, I’ve told that story and stuff. But this is a lot about my own crap that I’ve been going through. It’s stuff we’ve all been going through. Like, I think the entire country still has PTSD just from COVID alone. That was not our greatest moment.

I legit did cat-cow before this interview to calm me down. That’s your go-to move for helping your PTSD, yes?

You know why? Because I don’t give a shit why—that’s why. If getting on all fours and meowing like a cat and then tipping my head up and mooing like a cow stops me from vomiting, I will do it. And, by the way, that was my lowest of lows. Like, after my surgery, when my voice was altered—and maybe it was mental, maybe it was physical—but I went through like this 10-month period where I couldn’t stop vomiting. 

And that was hell. 

When you’re that sick, you can’t do anything. You can’t go anywhere. You can’t have anybody visit. The PTSD stuff was so gnarly, I couldn’t even watch TV and relax by watching dumb shows because the light was too much for my eyes. And I couldn’t even listen to music because the sound was too much for my ears. It was something like I never experienced. But that 10 months really scared the shit out of me. 

And then I got a team of people. And I have a caseworker, like I’m on probation. And I have a team of people trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. So yeah, it’s cat-cow. It’s Kundalini yoga—and I don’t even know what the fuck that is. It’s like some dietary stuff. It’s try normal shit—like get more sleep. 

But some of it is just weird stuff. I’ll spray essential oils, even though I don’t believe in that scam and I think it’s a pyramid scheme. In fact, I know it is. I saw a documentary on it. I’m not gonna join an essential oils cult. But I’m just gonna smell it—and if that’ll stop me from vomiting for five minutes, I’ll take it. I mean, if my mother was still here, she would need so much box wine just to get through my day. She would be making fun of me mercilessly and I would love it.

Fact—your Jerry Seinfeld/Steven Spielberg saga is classic and lives rent-free in my head. 

The last time I saw Steven Spielberg was at some fancy charity event, because even though those A-listers don’t want to mess with me, they always need a comedian to host. And I went up to him. And he tried to act like the whole thing didn’t happen, which, of course I wasn’t having. So, I said, “Can we just make up now? It’s been a long time.” And he’s like, “What? Why, hello, Kathy.” Uh, Steven don’t act you didn’t take out a full page ad against me in freaking USA Today. And he was like, “Ahh .. haha. Haha … ah.” That’s it. That’s as close as I get to hashing it out with Steven Spielberg. 

I think I’m always gonna bring out whatever celebrity I happen to be having a run-in with, or a good or bad encounter of some kind. Now that we live in Malibu, there’s a whole new group of celebrities that have to fear me, as they should. I’m lookin’ at you, Sean Penn. Like, if I were to run into Mel Gibson at the grocery store, I don’t know that I could trust myself. You’d want to pull up a chair and grab some popcorn. 

Interview slightly edited for content and clarity.