Trump: 'Kathy Griffin Should Be Ashamed Of Herself'
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) – President Donald Trump weighed in Wednesday morning on the disturbing video of comedienne Kathy Griffin holding a severed, bloody head resembling that of the president.
"Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself," Trump wrote on Twitter. "My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!"
The video showed a straight-faced Griffin slowly lifting the bloody head. She originally described the project with photographer Tyler Shields as an "artsy fartsy statement" mocking the commander-in-chief.
Griffin issued an apology video late Tuesday afternoon. In her apology, Griffin begged her fans for forgiveness and says she has asked Shields to remove the images.
"I made a mistake, and I was wrong," she says.
CNN, whose New Year's Eve coverage Griffin has co-hosted, called the images "disgusting and offensive."
"We are pleased to see she has apologized," CNN said in a statement. "We are evaluating New Year's Eve and have made no decisions at this point."
Squatty Potty, a Utah-based bathroom products company, said in a statement Tuesday that it has suspended an ad campaign featuring Griffin.
The video had apparently been removed from Shields' blog by late Tuesday. Shields had posted the following tweet May 26: "Can you go to jail for making an artistic statement??? Asking for a friend... @kathygriffin."
The U.S. Secret Service may also be investigating Griffin. In response to the photo, the agency tweeted: "On it! @SecretService has a robust protective intelligence division that monitors open source reporting & social media to evaluate threats."
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
