Kathy Griffin went from Hollywood鈥檚 D list to the international no-fly list with the click of a camera.
One photo, meant to be shared with a few friends.
She imagined it would live on a gay website for a day or two.
Instead, it went viral.
Within 12 hours in late May 2017, the photo of the red-haired comedian 鈥 famous for being not as famous as the celebrities she riffed on 鈥 holding a Halloween mask of then-President Donald Trump dripping with fake blood was the top headline worldwide.
鈥淭hey had it in Iran. They had it in Russia. Within 12 hours, around the world, they were calling me the first lady of Isis,鈥 Griffin recalled. 鈥淚鈥檓 57 years old, menopausal and a redhead comedian 鈥 but no, I鈥檓 the face of Isis! It was crazy.鈥
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It was the beginning of a 6陆-year nightmare from which Griffin is just now waking up.
鈥淚 am so back on the D list. I can鈥檛 even tell you,鈥 she said excitedly. 鈥淚 have yet to get a (comedy) special because people are afraid of me in my beloved industry, but I think there might be like a sea change after that bull(expletive) Trump thing.鈥
Early last month, Griffin set out on her first tour since the 27-stop 鈥淟augh Your Head Off鈥 in 2018. 鈥淢y Life on the PTSD-List鈥 pulls into Fox 大象APPTheatre on Wednesday, April 3.
But the road back has been anything but smooth.
鈥淚鈥檓 not going to lie; I鈥檝e been to (expletive) hell and back!鈥 the 63-year-old Griffin said, her tone sprinkled with exclamation points during a phone call last week.
That one photo, taken on a day that she did photo spoofs on Kim Kardashian and other A-list celebrities she mocks and celebrates in her comedy, turned into a nightmare.
Trump鈥檚 U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Secret Service investigated her for conspiracy to assassinate the president.
She spent months on the no-fly list reserved for suspected terrorists.
She became addicted to prescription pills, which led to a suicide attempt that landed her on a three-day 5150 hold in a psych ward.
She was diagnosed with lung cancer 鈥 鈥淚 never smoked and I got lung cancer!鈥 she said 鈥 and had half of a lung removed. Her once bright voice is forever changed to a deeper, slightly breathless octave.
She lost her sister to cancer and her 99-year-old mother, Maggie, who costarred in Griffin鈥檚 Bravo reality show 鈥淢y Life on the D-List.鈥
Four months ago, Griffin filed for divorce from Randy Bick, her husband of nearly four years.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we call the luck of the Irish because you鈥檙e born with bad luck,鈥 said Griffin, the daughter of first-generation Irish Americans. 鈥淎nd let me just say, I never believed in those things, but in the last 6陆 years, you have to admit, I鈥檝e had some pretty (expletive) bad luck. Now granted, some of it was my own doing; it鈥檚 not like anyone forced me to take that picture. And by the way, if he wins again, I鈥檓 taking another one.鈥
A few months ago, things started to look up.
鈥淎ll of a sudden out of the blue, I get a call from this manager and he鈥檚 going, 鈥榊ou know I think you got a raw deal with that whole Trump thing and I think it鈥檚 about time you got back to work,鈥欌 she said.
The manager led her to an agent, and two weeks later, she had 40 shows booked around the country.
鈥淭hey know I can sell tickets and thank God ... my audience is coming back in droves and I couldn鈥檛 not be more grateful,鈥 she said.
Her show will start off with stories about her celebrity encounters, including Paris Hilton鈥檚 Christmas party last December.
鈥淚t was like walking into 2008; it was like a time capsule,鈥 she recounted. 鈥淧aris still looks the same; she still dresses like she鈥檚 14. Everybody had to wear something pink and sparkly. I went with Rosie O鈥橠onnell who has nothing that is pink or sparkly. It was hilarious.鈥
She might even recount how her oncologist mixes her up with another celebrity Kathy.
鈥淚f one more oncologist goes, 鈥榊es, appointment for Ms. Gifford, Ms. Kathy Lee Gifford,鈥欌 she said. 鈥淚 just laugh. What am I gonna do, go off on the oncologist?鈥
One thing she won鈥檛 talk about is Trump.
鈥淭hey already know how I feel about Trump,鈥 she said, adding that if 鈥渉e does something particularly egregious, then of course I will address it.鈥
But you might hear her go off on Trump-aligned failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and once Democratic now Independent Arizona Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema.
鈥淒on鈥檛 get me started on that turncoat,鈥 she said. 鈥淟ook, either be a Democrat or be honest and say you鈥檙e a Republican who has a crush on Rob Portman, which I didn鈥檛 think was possible. But that鈥檚 me.鈥
Griffin鈥檚 concert on Wednesday is her first in 大象APPsince March 2017. We get her 15 shows into the tour, which will run through early summer before resuming in the fall.
So far, she said, she has been getting standing ovations.
鈥淢aybe they are just standing up because I have one vocal chord; I don鈥檛 care,鈥 she said. 鈥淎ll I know is they are standing and I drink it in like a cold glass of water. ... I can鈥檛 wait to hit that stage.鈥
The Fox 大象APPTheatre has been a 大象APPlandmark for decades. Its history has been captured in photos since the 1930s, when it opened as a vaudeville venue and movie house. Video by Pascal Albright / 大象APP