Comedian Kathy Griffin has had to go through some pretty painful years in the public eye after experiencing a major downfall career wise due to the Trump mask fiasco.
Although things have looked upwards since then and her career has rebounded, her personal life has floundered as the comedian revealed on Thursday that her beloved mother Maggie is suffering from dementia.
Kathy shared a variety of videos and photos of her mother over the years on her social media, with the default picture being of utmost importance.
"As heartbreaking as this is, I feel the need to share some important info about my mom Maggie," she wrote. "I've always been honest with you all, but this one is really hard. The pic below, taken in September, was the last time I was able to have a proper/coherent conversation with her.Since that photo was taken, she has rapidly fallen into the throes of dementia."
"This is never easy for any child, I know this is a reality that millions of people deal with every year," Kathy continued. "But when it comes to my mom this is particularly hard because her sharp mind was everything. My mom is 98 and up until this past couple years she was so sharp she always kept me on my toes. Her mind was so naturally quick, funny, and smart. No one could get anything past her. Watching that slip away so fast has been devastating."
"I want to assure you all that she is not in pain and she is getting the best 24-hour care. In terms of how she is now, at this point she only knows my name and I love you. I know many of you know what that reality is like…I'm still grappling with it."
Kathy then explained why she finally decided to post something related to her mother, saying, "A big reason I'm sharing this news with you is that so many of you have asked why I haven't posted a video of Maggie & her beloved dog Twinkle in the past few months. Now you understand why we haven't been able to share anything, here is a moment between them from this summer."
"What I am most proud of when I comes to My Life On The D List is that show gave me the opportunity to show the world how naturally funny my parents were. When people tell me they feel like they know my mom, I always respond "you do!" She never put on a show, she was the show. If you ever met my mom and asked for a photo, you should know it was a pleasure as much for her as it was for you. She loved making people happy and making people laugh. And trust me, I know she was the bigger star…thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving us a lifetime of memories."
Several of our fellow LGBTQ brethren left her words of support and encouragement, notably Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Carson Kressley.
Maggie first rose to popularity during her appearances on Kathy's Emmy-winning reality series My Life on the D-List alongside her late husband John who passed while the show was still on the air. She's been a fixture in Kathy's stand up since then, and has even written a book called Tip It! The World According to Maggie.
My heart goes out to Kathy.Â
My heart goes out to Kathy. This is a horrific disease. May she find comfort in the joy her mother brought to her and others. 98… how wonderful she's had such a long life!