A large group of Donald Trump supporters staged a dramatic protest at Kathy Griffin’s comedy show at the Paramount Theater in Huntington, Long Island. The demonstration included a caravan of vehicles adorned with Trump flags and banners on Sunday night.
The protest was marked by vivid posters, including a sign that demanded, “Hang all Traitors!” featuring an image of President Joe Biden in ropes. A notable moment of the rally was when a protester rode in a pickup truck displaying an effigy of Kathy Griffin’s head, a direct reference to the comedian’s controversial 2017 photo with a likeness of Trump’s severed head.
“She’s a lowlife what she did. She should never have done what she did to Trump,” said one of the protestors. “She shouldn’t be here on Long Island. She should never have a job again in the rest of her life.”
“Nobody should ever put a behead out there on anyone. I don’t care if he’s Democrat or Republican. So we’re here to prove a point to her. Get the hell off of Long Island and never come back,” he finished.
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“He’s going to be President again,” another supporter declared, dismissing the lawsuits against Trump as “all fake.”
“To protest Kathy Griffin and the way she treated President Trump, hanging his head. I think she’s disgusting. And I didn’t want her in my neighborhood, so I came down here to… I came down here to put my little two cents into it, that’s all,” said another Long Islander.
On Sunday, Griffin took to Instagram to write, “This is the protest that is planned for my show tonight in Huntington, Long Island. I anxious to see what this group of losers has in mind. 🙄🙄🙄”
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During a photoshoot in May 2017, Griffin was depicted holding a prop that resembled the severed head of Donald Trump, then the President of the United States. The imagery was graphic and intended to be provocative, but it sparked a massive backlash from the public, including criticism from both Democrats and Republicans.
Trump responded to the photo on Twitter, saying that Griffin should be ashamed of herself and mentioning that the photo had particularly upset his family, including his youngest son, Barron. Griffin faced significant repercussions as a result of the photo. She was dropped by several sponsors, faced cancellations of her comedy tour dates, and was also terminated from her co-hosting duties for CNN’s New Year’s Eve broadcast, a job she had held for a decade alongside Anderson Cooper.
The backlash was swift and severe, with Griffin later admitting that the photo went too far and issuing an apology. Griffin initially claimed that the backlash had ended her career, but has tried to return to comedy.
During the course of her tour this year, Griffin has resorted to going on social media to encourage ticket sales for her shows.