Kathy Griffin‘s world was turned upside down after a photo of her holding a replica of Donald Trump‘s decapitated head made its way through the internet.
It changed her life in so many drastic ways. Friends like Anderson Cooper became enemies after they didn’t stand up for her in the press, she was put on the no fly zone for a while and was even detained at pretty much every airport during her Laugh Your Head Off Tour over the situation.
The man responsible for taking said pic, Tyler Shields, spoke out about it in an exclusive new interview with TooFab three years after it was first released.
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“I think that photo of Kathy Griffin hit at the exact time,” he revealed. “And if it had been two months before, or two months after even, I don’t think it would have necessarily had that same impact. It was just the perfect storm of that time.”
Tyler also claimed that news surrounding the photo wouldn’t be as big today given all the controversial things that Trump has said and done during his time in office. “I think, you know, he’s been president for, I don’t know how long now — almost four years — that now more people have done things, more people have said things.”
“But again, we were the first to that, and when you’re the first you have to take the brunt of it,” he continued. “I would guess it would have, I don’t think it would be as polarizing as it was for sure.”
“I think some of the polarization would be taken off of it if it came out today. I don’t know that it would be as powerful.”
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Things have taken an upwards turn for Kathy in relation to said photo in the years since. A hashtag created by Drag Race alum Trinity K. Bonet, #kathyknewthewholetime, was created earlier this month by fans who said that the Emmy-winning comedian deserves a heartfelt apology given all the horrible things Trump and his administration has done since the photo came to light.
“Apparently, the kids started a hashtag about The Photo,” she tweeted on Wednesday, June 3. “Thank you @trinitykbonet for the support. I stand with you. I’m here for you. Your voices have ALWAYS MATTERED.”
“I’ve learned so much. I think a lot of people would love it if I said, ‘Oh, I wish I had never taken that picture. I wish I had never cursed. I wish I had never made this comment or that comment.’ But the most important thing that I hope people see is that, long after I kick the bucket, they see the crazy red-haired lady didn’t go down,” Kathy said in a 2019 interview about her thoughts on said photo.