The fallout over a photograph in which Kathy Griffin posed with the bloodied, severed “head” of President Donald Trump continued this week as more venues on her cross-country comedy tour pulled the plug on her scheduled performances.
According to a report from TMZ, five venues on Griffin’s “Celebrity Run-In Tour” have now canceled the comedian’s upcoming appearances.
Cancelations include scheduled performances at California’s Grass Valley Veterans Memorial Center and the Sunset Center in Carmel, the Route 66 Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the St. George Theatre in Staten Island, New York, and the State Theater in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
“The Kathy Griffin performance scheduled for Thursday, November 2, 2017 has been canceled,” the New York venue wrote on its Facebook page Thursday. “The St. George Theatre does not endorse the actions or beliefs of any of its performers, and Ms. Griffin’s recent actions have severely inhibited our ability to fulfill our mission as a non-profit theatre serving the Staten Island community.”
“Please note: After careful consideration of recent events and for the safety of our patrons, Kathy Griffin’s November 3rd performance has been cancelled,” the State Theatre in New Jersey wrote on its own Facebook page.
Both locations offered full refunds to customers who had purchased tickers for the events.
Another New Jersey venue, Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, told TMZ that it had received a barrage of calls about Griffin’s photo incident, but had not yet made a decision on whether to move forward with the show.
The cancelations come as the fallout continues over a photograph of Griffin taken during a shoot with L.A.-based photographer Tyler Shields this week in which the 56-year-old My Life on the D-List star posed with a bloody prop head meant to resemble that of the president.
The photograph quickly went viral Tuesday morning and drew responses from both the president and First Lady Melania Trump, the latter of whom called the image “very disturbing” and “simply wrong.” The U.S. Secret Service also reportedly opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the photo shoot.
On Wednesday, Griffin was fired from her role on CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live broadcast, which she has co-hosted with the network’s anchor, Anderson Cooper, since 2007. Griffin also lost out on an advertising deal with toilet supplies company Squatty Potty.
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum
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