The comedian stresses she did not get in "fake Hollywood trouble," but was in fact under very serious investigation by two federal agencies.
Kathy Griffin has had a rough year and a half, but this holiday season, she's thankful for living next to Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.
The comedian told Stephen Colbert on "The Late Show" Friday that the famous married couple helped her get through the biggest struggle of her life: clearing her name after posing in a photograph with a bloody prop Donald Trump head.
"As a comedian, to be living next door to Kim and Kanye during this whole thing got me through," Griffin said. "That alone got me through. Something normal in my life, people I could relate to. I would open the window and see Kim and the Yeezys, and feel better, so American."
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View Story"Yes, I took a photo that changed my life irrevocably," Griffin began. "That was one thing. Because the walls caved in on me, and the accidental president -- it's an accident -- he tweeted at me that, you know, my -- he tweeted against me, which made everything cancel in my life, basically."
Trump had tweeted at the time that Griffin should be "ashamed" of herself and claimed his then 11-year-old son, Barron, was having a "hard time" as a direct result from the photo. Griffin explained she had learned that "60 million Americans" believed that she was a member of terrorist organization ISIS.
"I was in the middle of a 50-city tour, and within 12 hours I had not one single day of work ahead of me," Griffin added. "And, by the way, to this day, I do not have one single day of paid work ahead of me. So I've been digging myself out of this rabbit hole for last year and a half."
The comedian revealed that day after Trump tweeted, she received a call from her attorney, who told her that two federal agencies from the Department of Justice -- the Secret Service and the AUSA (Assistant of the U.S. Attorney's office) -- put her under a "two-month" federal investigation and were considering charging her with "conspiracy to assassinate the president of the United States."
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View StoryColbert's audience was so shocked by the revelation, some even gasped.
"So a lot of people thought you know I got a call from the Secret Service or got in fake Hollywood trouble," Griffin explained. "But, no, this is real-life trouble."
The Emmy winner said she was treated "like a terrorist" by being placed on the no fly list for two months, received "very immediate" death threats, and lost "75 percent" of her friends.
Since she couldn't get work in America, Griffin went overseas for an 18-country tour titled "The Kathy Griffin Laugh Your Head Off" Tour. While overseas, Griffin said she was put on the Interpol List and was "detained at every single airport."
Griffin described the entire ordeal as an "abuse of power," because the picture was covered under the First Amendment.
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View StoryWhile she admitted she wouldn't repeat "that particular thing again," Griffin said she is now on a "comedy mission" to help out other comedians targeted by President Trump, like Samantha Bee and Michelle Wolf.
Griffin concluded by unveiling some news (as shown in the tweet below) and how she's taking her career back.
Big News!
@kathygriffin
Most of my library is going up on iTunes over the next few months!
Including
1. Episodes of "My Life On The D List"
2. Most of my 23 comedy specials
3. Episodes of my talk show!
If you want alerts on when they go up text KATHY to 345345https://t.co/VnEitKtjVu pic.twitter.com/rF4Y8jnHrz
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