This morning, Kathy Griffin revealed on Twitter that she was undergoing surgery to remove a tumor from her lung. Though Griffin remains positive about her prognosis, not everyone has had kind words for the comedienne. Notably, Meghan McCain used some time on The View to express why she doesn’t like Griffin and to demand an apology from her.
‘I Don’t Like Her’
McCain’s reaction to the news is at once both shocking and, frankly, predictable. Kathy Griffin has long drawn the ire of conservative pundits, much of which came to a head four years ago when Griffin posted a very controversial photo of her with a prop severed head of then-President Donald Trump. The photo posted to social media was widely condemned by conservatives and liberals alike, and it basically cost Griffin her career. She was fired from CNN as the co-presenter of its annual New Year’s Eve coverage and had her stand-up tour canceled.
It wasn’t only that photo that has upset McCain however. It’s something much more personal for The View panelist: her close friendship with Clay Aiken. According to McCain, many years ago, Griffin made what McCain describes as homophobic jokes at the former American Idol star’s expensive. Aiken, who is openly gay now, was still in the closet at the time, and the jokes, which McCain did not repeat in her statement today, are unforgivable. McCain describes Aiken as “like a brother to her.”
McCain said in the statement, “She made very, very, very cruel and homophobic jokes about him before he was out of the closet. We have to go back to 2002, 2003 when that was still acceptable.” She continued that while Kathy Griffin wasn’t the only comedian to make jokes about Aiken, “she really led it.” So instead of offering condolences towards Griffin for her health situation, McCain demanded an apology for those jokes, saying, “I would love to hear an apology if she’s doing this kind of soul-searching,” adding, “I don’t like her, I’m never going to like her for all the jokes she made about Clay.”
The Jokes
Kathy Griffin’s stand up has, at its core, always been about trashing celebrities. Aiken was often the butt of jokes about being closeted, which has always felt especially harsh as, even at the time, Griffin considered herself a champion of the LGBTQ+ community. That community turned against her after the jokes, as did McCain, and frankly, that’s fair. It’s safe to say Griffin, as she has so often before, went way too hard after Aiken, who has admitted he struggled greatly with his sexuality and specifically coming out.
While some might say this would be one of those times that our parents taught us to say nothing if we didn’t have something nice to say, that has never been Meghan McCain’s style, so it’s no surprise that she took the opportunity to again discuss her beef with the comedienne. Watch the full statement from Meghan McCain below:
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