Kathy Griffin is feeling lots of “gratitude” to be booked and busy after being “canceled for six-and-a-half years.”
“[I] could not get work, no matter what. And it was really, really difficult because I’ve been a happy workaholic my whole adult career and always either doing a comedy special or a reality show or a game show or a scripted show,” Griffin, 64, exclusively told Us Weekly. “And so, I’m just so grateful to be back on stage, back working every show I do as if it’s my last show. When I did my last tour seven years ago, it really was my last f—ing show and I didn’t know that.”
Back in 2017, Griffin sparked controversy after taking a photo with a fake decapitated head resembling President Donald Trump. She was subsequently investigated by the U.S. Justice Department for two months and lost several gigs and endorsements. In her personal life, she filed for divorce from Randy Bick in December 2023 after nearly four years of marriage (their split was finalized earlier this year) and battled lung cancer.
Now, she’s back on stage with her Kathy Griffin: My Life on the PTSD-List comedy tour.
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“Every show is a gift and I’ve been so fortunate enough on this tour to play every place from Carnegie Hall in Manhattan to Boston Symphony Hall, all by myself, no opening act,” she told Us of hitting the road again. “I write all my own material. I love every minute of it. And the audiences, I think they know a lot of the crap I’ve been through. And so, every audience is like a big hug.”
In addition to her tour and her new Talk Your Head Off with Kathy Griffin YouTube series, Griffin recently made her TV comeback on the TV show Unconventional, which premiered on REVRY, the world’s first LGTBQ+ streaming network, on February 11. The show follows two queer siblings as they form an unconventional family with their loved ones.
“I play an English professor, which is funny because I didn’t even go to college,” Griffin told Us of her role. “There were a couple of moments in Unconventional where I got to be a little bit dramatic, and I’m really grateful.”
Late last year, Griffin was also one of the thousands of California residents affected by the Franklin Fire in Malibu. The comedian confirmed she and her four dogs had to evacuate her home in a December 2024 Instagram video. Luckily, she found refuge with another famous face.
“When you’re evacuating with four dogs, it’s not so easy. Hotels might limit you to one dog or two,” she explained. “So, when I have to evacuate, guess whose house I go and stay at? Sia! And she even sings to me.”
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Griffin gushed that she’s “just in love” with the singer, 49, for being “such a good pal” in her time of need. “She’s magical. I just love her. And she has three dogs herself, and so she was like, ‘Come over with all four dogs.’ So, I did.”
Sia continued to support Griffin by attending her “very first show back at The Mirage after six-and-a-half years of being fully blacklisted,” Griffin told Us. “I put her on the spot because, as you know, she doesn’t want to be recognized and she doesn’t want to be famous. So there were no lights in the audience at all. It was total darkness. And then I put her on the spot and I made her sing ‘Chandelier’ a cappella.”
With reporting by Amanda Williams
