Kathy Griffin’s latest pronouncements about Trump supporters have become the kind of celebrity spectacle Americans are tired of watching: she claims to have “quite a few Trumper friends” while still insisting that parts of the MAGA base find her “very triggering,” a line she used to justify both victim status and moral outrage. The media lap it up, but the story beneath the sound bites is simply another example of a liberal performer who provokes and then plays the wounded party when conservatives respond.
More alarming, and what the leftist press frames as “eerie,” is Griffin’s claim that a stranger has been following her neighborhood walks, filming her and saying he can “get Donald Trump to watch the video” — the kind of bizarre, attention-seeking behavior she’s now using to amplify her narrative of persecution. We should all be concerned about harassment and safety, but the rush to portray a political movement of tens of millions as a menacing cult based on one creepy encounter is dishonest and dangerous.
Griffin has also warned that if Donald Trump returns to the White House he’ll “pick us off, one by one,” naming late-night hosts and other comedians, a caricature of a vindictive leader more at home in a left-wing fever dream than in reality. This trope — the “enemies list” fantasy — has been recycled for years by celebrities who confuse being criticized with state repression, and the press repeats it without a second thought.
Let’s not forget how this all began: Griffin’s notorious 2017 stunt with a bloody mask of President Trump’s head sparked real consequences, from lost gigs to federal scrutiny and temporary inclusion on watch lists — consequences she now invokes to claim martyrdom while continuing to court controversy on stage. There’s no excuse for threats or harassment against anyone, but there’s a difference between accountability for bad taste and portraying yourself as a political prisoner when you remain a profitable celebrity.
Griffin’s attempts to monetize outrage with comeback tours and special appearances — even billing shows as stops “in Trump’s backyard” — expose the transactional nature of Hollywood outrage: offend, collect the headlines, then cash in on the sympathy tour. The American people deserve better than performative posturing from elites who profit from perpetual grievance while lecturing the rest of us about civility.
Patriotic Americans can oppose Kathy Griffin’s politics and still defend her right to speak, but we should call out the double standard when entertainers manufacture persecution to keep themselves in the spotlight. Real courage is standing up for your beliefs without screaming cancel culture when the rest of the country pushes back — and refusing to let celebrity theatrics define the national conversation.
