Kathy Griffin is a comedian, actress, and former reality star. She is also deeply embattled in a scandal that is (at least partially) of her own making.
Over the weekend, she went on the offensive and made a series of accusations — at one point accusing Andy Cohen of having offered her cocaine, and more than once.
Andy Cohen is speaking out in response.
To talk about this, we absolutely have to talk about how this all began.
Context matters.
In late May, Kathy Griffin posed with a “decapitated” Donald Trump — a mask coated in ketchup. Though she never intended for the photo to get out, it did.
To say that it was controversial is … a massive understatement.
Obviously, the anger from conservatives wasn’t a surprise — it was clearly an artistic attack on Trump.
Many progressives were also incensed, and not out of any special fondness for the Donald.
We think that a big problem that people had with Kathy’s leaked photo was that it gave fodder for the embattled President and his administration to seek sympathy.
(Remember how Trump ludicrously claimed that his preteen son thought that the pic was real? A transparent ploy for sympathy that many felt that Kathy enabled)
Additionally, following 8 years of images of Obama being lynched — at rallies and even as yard decorations — a lot of progressive Americans felt like Kathy Griffin’s picture cost them the moral high ground.
(Even though, you know, it was just one photo with zero racial undertones and was also leaked rather than released)
Kathy Griffin apologized, but … the world did not seem to be in a forgiving mood.
The entertainment industry, which regularly continues to employ people accused of domestic violence or sexual harassment, has effectively blacklisted Kathy Griffin.
Even a lot of people who were deeply frustrated with Kathy Griffin for taking a photo in such poor taste (and, regardless of your feelings about Trump, the picture is not tasteful and frankly pretty juvenile) were shocked that she lost a whole bunch of regular jobs.
The ensuing scandal cost her her famous friendship with Anderson Cooper as well as her job cohosting New Year’s Eve.
Pointing out that things were blown out of proportion, Kathy Griffin has retracted her apology.
(We get it — the apology still didn’t do her any good)
And the fallout from Kathy Griffin’s Trump scandal is still ruining her life, resulting in her family receiving death threats.
Well, news broke that Anderson Cooper’s New Year’s Eve cohost would be Andy Cohen.
Andy Cohen, when asked about Kathy Griffin by TMZ‘s cameras, pulled the famous Mariah Carey line — saying that he doesn’t “even know her.”
Kathy … was not amused.
Kathy Griffin went off on a huge rant, aiming her ire at both Andy Cohen and at Harvey Levin.
She accused Harvey Levin, the head of TMZ, of collusion with Donald Trump, echoing similar reports from the past year.
She accused Andy Cohen of having been a nightmarish boss when her reality series, My Life On The D-List, was airing on Bravo.
There was … a lot, in her (lengthy) video.
She talked about being on “lists” at airports and about how she continues to be blacklisted by just about everyone.
(If a network or streaming platform is brave enough, maybe she can make a “My Life On The Blacklist” miniseries … though it might be confused with a certain CBS drama)
One thing in particular that Kathy said about Andy Cohen, her former boss who has also had her as a guest on his talk show a couple of times, is an accusation that he twice offered her cocaine.
“Both times I did the show, right before we went live, Andy Cohen privately asked me in an office if I wanted to do blow,” she said.
“I’ve never had a drink in my life. You guys know I’m no prude but I’m kind of like a straightedge, I thought he was kidding the first time.”
Honestly, in light of more inflammatory statements, Kathy Griffin’s accusation that a guy working in the entertainment industry does drugs almost flew under the radar.
Andy Cohen, however, is speaking out about it.
Andy Cohen categorically denies Kathy’s accusation.
“I am completely stunned by this story. It is 100% false and totally made up,” he tweeted over the weekend.
Honestly, we’re not going to weigh in on who is right. We imagine that there might be other celebrities who will (or won’t) speak up if Andy Cohen has ever made them a similar offer.
We will say that we would never have advised anyone to make such an offer to Kathy Griffin. She has a tendency to cross boundaries in her stand-up and share private conversations.
Obviously.
You know what our real takeaway from the whole Kathy Griffin scandal is?
This is an outspoken opponent of the current President and also a reality star known for her outlandish comments. The very idea of her entering politics sounds almost like a joke.
So, based upon the bonkers reality of 2016 … is Kathy Griffin going to run for President?
Probably not, but the parallels to Trump seemed worth pointing out.
