Blame Media, Not Griffin, for Bloody Trump Head
Kathy Griffin was totally proud of her bloodied Donald Trump head photograph. Until she wasn’t.
Only that’s not the important lesson from the most irresponsible publicity stunt in ages.
The loud and proud D-list star spent plenty of time planning, staging and sharing a photograph where she holds up President Donald Trump’s bloodied head for all to see, ISIS style.
It’s part of The Resistance, don’t you know.
Kathy Griffin BEHEADS Donald Trump in SHOCKING Photo Shoot! #TMZ pic.twitter.com/Se0nGnRmQ1
— TMZ (@TMZ) May 31, 2017
Only the comic didn’t realize the stunt could backfire. When Keith Olbermann and Chelsea Clinton blow the whistle on a progressive attack you know you’ve crossed a line.
A half dozen, to be precise.
So naturally many are pelting Griffin over the image. It’s understandable. And deserved. And yet it’s misplaced.
Griffin didn’t start all of this. She’s the logical conclusion to a cultural rot occurring on the left and the media. But we repeat ourselves.
- When Louis C.K., Tom Green and Sarah Silverman compared Trump to Hitler, no politicians shared collective outrage. No op-eds shouted any opposition. The media was not just silent. It giggled a bit.
- When director Joss Whedon predicted President Trump would start killing gay people most media outlets ignored the shock claim.
- When Madonna shared how she considered blowing up the White House Deadline.com didn’t slam the erstwhile Material Girl. It ran to her defense. Other reporters treated it like a one-day story.
- When Ashley Judd compared Trump’s rise to Hitler no one clutched a single pearl at the outrageous nature of the claim.
- When Stephen Colbert made a vile oral sex joke about Trump the media and fellow comics rushed to his defense.
- When Bill Maher made a ghastly incest joke involving President Trump and his daughter, Ivanka, no one said a word.
- When Snoop Dogg “shot” President Trump in a video only conservatives shared their outrage.
- When rapper Bow Wow threatened to pimp out First Lady Melania Trump media outlets either ignored it or downplayed it.
- When Robert De Niro fantasized about punching Trump in the nose media reporters shared the outburst sans outrage.
Should anyone be surprised that Griffin, a mediocre standup known for her cruel antics, would stoop to the level she did? Why wouldn’t she? Liberal culture practically made her do it.
Heck, some major media players aren’t even outraged about showing the decapitated head of a sitting U.S. President.
Take CNN. The network served up a panel to discuss Griffin’s Trump picture. CNN contributor Molly Ball of The Atlantic fame said Trump was playing the victim in this situation.
You simply cannot make this stuff up. Let’s not forget President Trump’s young son in this equation, either.
Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2017
And this is the same network with massive coverage of a rodeo clown savaged for poking fun at President Barack Obama, as he did to past presidents. CNN has yet to fire Griffin from the network’s annual New Year’s Eve debauchery.
UPDATE: CNN finally fired Griffin from its annual New Year’s Eve coverage.
Over at MSNBC, “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski declared the Griffin story too gross and not worth coverage.
Sen. Al Franken said Griffin’s photograph was horrible on, where else, CNN. The Senator applauded her apology and still plans to appear with her in July.
Phew.
Sen. Al Franken stands by Kathy Griffin – refuses to cancel event with her July 7th. pic.twitter.com/SirDPuTf0L
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) May 31, 2017
And then you have Entertainment Weekly. The magazine scored an exclusive with Tyler Shields, the photographer who helped Griffin pull off the photo stunt. Sure, the reporter asked a tough question or two. But the Q&A ends up promoting and darn near celebrating the photo in question.
Ask yourself if EW would have taken a similar stance if Griffin held President Barack Obama’s head in her hand. Meanwhile, let’s not forget the media maelstrom surrounding that rodeo clown. Or how TBS backpedaled quicker than the Road Runner over a single tweet mocking Hillary Clinton’s laugh.
That crossed a line. Trump’s severed head? Not so much.
So what’s the conclusion? Griffin will suffer very little, if anything, from this experience. Her inauthentic apology will be used by media outlets to move on from the story.
I am sorry. I went too far. I was wrong. pic.twitter.com/LBKvqf9xFB
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) May 30, 2017
Her far-left fan base may even love her more. She may not lose a single gig. And you can point a finger directly at the media for all of the above.
And the same media which tried to blame targets on a Sarah Palin map for the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will ignore any connection between Griffin’s image and stories like this:
DEVELOPING: Man Arrested In Trump Hotel With Guns, Ammo. Police: Made ‘Threatening Remarks’
I wonder if Conservatives can learn something from her “apology”. When we apologize, it’s a long and drawn out speech. When they do it, it’s quick and curt, with an undertone of “I’m moving on, and so should you.” Maybe we ought to give that a try….