Jim Carrey Defends Kathy Griffin Amid Trump Photo Scandal: ‘Hold Up a Severed Leg as Well!’

Taryn Ryder

One famous comedian has Kathy Griffin’s back.

Days after she was almost universally denounced for “beheading” Donald Trump in a photo shoot, Jim Carrey is defending Griffin. The 55-year-old actor spoke with Entertainment Tonight, saying it’s her job to pull stunts like that.

“I think it is the job of a comedian to cross the line at all times — because that line is not real,” Carrey stated at the premiere of his new Showtime series, I’m Dying Up Here. “If you step out into that spotlight and you’re doing the crazy things that [Trump] is doing, we’re the last line of defense.”

Carrey added, “And really, the comedians are the last voice of truth in this whole thing. It’s impossible to get away from it.”

In the controversial photo, shot by photographer Tyler Shields, Griffin, 56, can be seen holding a bloody, severed head resembling that of President Trump’s. At Wednesday night’s premiere, Carrey broached the topic again when addressing the audience inside the theater.

“So, uh, Kathy Griffin? Hold up a severed leg as well!” he exclaimed, according to People. “I don’t know if it’s funny, but I don’t think the joke is the problem. Don’t worry about it. Don’t worry for your existence. All of this is meaningless… all of creation is just God’s Fidget Spinner. It’s really not important. What’s important is that we’re all here.”

Shortly after the photo was released on Tuesday, Griffin apologized for the “disturbing” image.

“I’m a comic. I crossed the line. I move the line, then I cross it. The image went way too far,” she confessed. “I understand how it offends people. It wasn’t funny. I get it… I made a mistake, and I was wrong.”

Trump himself had something to say about the graphic image as well.

Carrey is one of the first public figures to come to Griffin’s defense. Even her friend and colleague, Anderson Cooper, denounced her action. CNN fired Griffin from her New Year’s Eve hosting gig in the wake of the scandal.


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