Lung cancer, divorce, pill addiction, a suicide attempt, cancel culture and an FBI investigation—comedian/actress Kathy Griffin has been through it all. But now she’s back with a stand-up comedy tour—My Life on the PTSD-List—that will bring Griffin to the Chicago Theatre on New Year’s Eve at 8 p.m.
During a recent talk with Windy City Times, Griffin discussed her past hurdles, Donald Trump, comedy icon and friend Joan Rivers, and more.
Note: This conversation was edited for clarity and length.
Windy City Times: Your tour is called My Life on the PTSD-List—but I think a lot of your core audience might be dealing with PTSD after the presidential election.
Kathy Griffin: Seriously! That’s why I named it that. First of all, I make fun of my own diagnosis; you have to laugh at everything or you’ll go crazy. So I promised to make it funny and I don’t want to scare your readers. But let’s be honest: for the LGBTQ community—well, LGBT, let’s just stop there [laughs]—we are going backward. I personally hear things like “Gay marriage—you might as well kiss that goodbye.” I think we’re underestimating what the Trump administration will do, even though we’ve already seen it. I feel like on New Year’s Eve we need to have a fuckin’ blowout because starting Jan. 21, it’s not going to be so fuckin’ funny.
I know that the LGBT community is a big part of my audience and I want them to know it’s a safe space; we can talk about gay stuff, straight stuff and everything in between. And it’s really significant because we are weeks away from President Elon Musk and Vice President Trump, and Elon has gone on record for being anti-trans. And, usually, when they’re anti-trans they’re anti-gay—I’m just going to make that leap. So I want us to just have fun, get together, be a community and start talking.
One thing I love about this tour—which has surprised me in that it’s grown to 75 cities—is that the folks who come to my show have seen me five, 10 times, and they know that we’re going to go there. We’re not going to talk about political stuff because I did that with my last tour, but we’re going to talk about where life is now for us, where we stand and who to lean on. And, sure, I’ll make jokes about everybody, including myself, but it is truly a time unlike anything I’ve seen in my lifetime.
WCT: You have overcome just about everything.
KG: I’m exhausted! I need to “undercome” something. I’ve overcome too fucking much! Jesus Christ! There was the Trump head scandal; I was losing friends. There was me becoming addicted to pills. It was the 5150. Then I got lung cancer—and I’ve never smoked and they took half of my left lung. Then my voice turns into Minnie Mouse for three fucking years. So I’m writing material, going, “Nope—I can turn this around and make it relatable.” And I have an implant in my left vocal cord; I feel like my voice came back.
But your first question was right on the money. Between COVID and Trumpism, we’re kind of all going through PTSD. I’m not using that term lightly, but shit’s gonna get ugly probably pretty fast. I’m so crushed—I didn’t know men hated us so much. I’ve been a lifelong fighter for equality across the board; I’m, like, “Wow.” Like, they HATE us. Look: Reach out to your hags, because we need you. We’ve been there for you and I’m a longtime hag. I officiated my high-school boyfriend’s wedding to his husband. Honey—I’m a hag among hags! But we need you because I didn’t know all those Joe Rogan, Elon, Kanye and Dave Chappell guys would actually show up and declare war on females.
So we’re in this together and it’s going to be a slog. And, no, I’m not leaving the country. Every time I post something, the Trumpers—because of the head picture that was years ago—still come at me with “I thought you were leaving the country.” I’m like, “Good luck getting me out, motherfucker. I live in Malibu, I have a view of the ocean and I’m two blocks away from Barbra Streisand. Go fuck yourself.”
WCT: Were you more shocked with the 2016 presidential election result or this year’s?
KG: This year’s. I think [Harris] is dazzling. I think all the complaints about Biden was nothing but bullshit ageism. And the internalized hatred from men of all ages… It’s easier to blame the younger guys but I’ve been around too long. It is stunning. You know what? As a cisgender female, I need your help now. The stigma against being a female comedian in this world with fuckin’ Mormon wives—all these dumb bitches who think it’s fuckin’ cool to dress like they live in a prairie and do what their man says. And let me tell you something: If you don’t like President Musk, you’re really not going to like President J.D. Vance—so get ready for that fuckin’ bag of bullshit.
By the way, put this in your article: Lobotomies get a bad rap. I want to get a fuckin’ lobotomy and forget about this whole election cycle. Just surgically cut it out and when people ask “Do you know who our president is?,” I’ll say, “I sure don’t. What time is my show? I’m a comic and I like to make people laugh. That’s all I know.”
WCT: I saw a video of you and Joan Rivers in bed. She said that she felt she was losing her gay fans because she thought “c—sucker” was a term of endearment.
KG: Oh, I miss her! But … come on! Every once in a blue moon, if you’re with a very close friend, maybe you’ll call each other “c—sucker.” You know what it is? It’s a double standard, and even I have it. I’m one of those bitches who can say “cock” but I don’t like it if you do. When women are all together, we call each other “c—ts,”—at least my c—t friends do. But as for “c—sucker,” we’re going to have way bigger fish to fry than that.
WCT: But what do you miss most about Joan?
KG: I miss her voice. Look: Joan was a Republican, but she was a fiscal Republican. She was friends with Donald but she knew how scary he was as an enemy. And I wasn’t scared of him but she was; I’m not boasting, because I really fucked around and found out. I wouldn’t take it back, but I did.
You know what’s so funny? I think Joan would have defended Donald a little bit in the beginning but I think—with Joan being Joan—that she would’ve started making jokes about him because it was in her DNA. Then he would’ve turned on her. Joan was a true friend of the [LGBTQ+] community. She was on the board of directors for God’s Love We Deliver, which delivered meals to AIDS patients back in the day, and it’s still around. [Note: In 2009, Rivers also won more than $500,000 for God’s Love in the NBC reality competition Celebrity Apprentice—which was run by Trump.] Joan was an ally who walked the walk. She might’ve felt like she owed Donald, but that was just when he was a TV dumdum. Nobody knew about the racist and anti-gay shit, and him acting like he’s anti-abortion. Give me a fucking break! That guy should’ve opened his own clinic because he’s paid for so many abortions—allegedly.
I feel they would’ve butted heads. She wouldn’t have done something as radical as I did with the bloodied head, but Joan did not suffer fools. She would’ve outsmarted him and I think he would’ve targeted her.
For tickets and more information regarding My Life on the PTSD List, visit Griffin’s official website.