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Griffin has lost sponsorships and jobs, including her role as
co-host of CNN's New Year's Eve coverage with journalist
Anderson Cooper, since a photograph and video from the shoot
appeared on social media on Tuesday.
President Trump said the image of Griffin with the gory mask
resembling him was "sick" and that it had traumatized his
family, especially his youngest son, 11-year-old Barron. Trump's
oldest son, Donald Jr., called for employers to drop the
comedian.
“I don’t think I will have a career after this. I’m going to be
honest, (Trump) broke me,” said Griffin, 56, a two-time
Emmy-winning performer known for her deliberately provocative
brand of humor. She added that she had received death threats.
Griffin reiterated the apology she posted on social media late
on Tuesday, but remained defiant, saying, "I'm not afraid of
Donald Trump, he's a bully," adding that she intended to
continue making jokes about the president.
She also described herself as a provocative woman who has often
had to deal with older white men in positions of power.
"What's happening to me has never happened ever, in the history
of this great country, which is that a sitting president of the
United States and his grown children and the first lady are
personally, I feel, trying to ruin my life - forever,” she said.
Griffin said the photo was intended to mock Trump's comments
during the presidential campaign, when he told CNN that Fox News
anchor Megyn Kelly had "blood coming out of her eyes, blood
coming out of her - wherever" when she moderated a 2015
presidential debate.
Trump's remark was widely interpreted as referring to menstrual
blood, implying that Kelly was in an unfriendly mood because she
was menstruating.
At his daily briefing on Friday, White House spokesman Sean
Spicer declined to respond to Griffin's remarks, saying that the
president, the first lady and the Secret Service had made clear
their views on the photo.
Katrina Pierson, a former Trump campaign spokeswoman, criticized
Griffin on Twitter after her appearance on Friday, saying that
Griffin had had a nervous breakdown about "misogyny & mean white
men" at the press conference.
The U.S. Secret Service, which is responsible for presidential
security, has opened an inquiry into the photo of Griffin posing
with the severed-head replica.
(Additional reporting by Laila Kearney in New York and Steve
Holland in Washington, D.C.; Editing by Patrick Enright and
Andrew Hay)
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