'I Was Planning to Quit Twitter Before Elon Musk Banned Me'

Comedian Kathy Griffin weighs in on beating cancer, becoming a social media outcast and that infamous Trump photo

- KATHY GRIFFIN

I'VE ALWAYS MADE A JOKE about how my voice is unique, and so incredibly annoying. So, the most challenging thing in my life right now is dealing with what I call my "new voice." My left vocal cord is paralyzed, and I may not get more of my voice back.

I've been very self-conscious about it, because I sound a little bit like Minnie Mouse now and I have to explain it to the audience every time I do stand-up. Some people think I'm joking, but I really did get diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2021, without ever smoking, and the surgery to remove the cancer gave me pretty extensive nerve damage. But it's funny, I've been getting so many people saying that they like this voice better. If that's the attitude people have, I hit the jackpot.

What's great about cancer is that, boy, people are nicer. And I work it like a shameless two-dollar w*When I go to dinner, if there's one thing I don't like, I'll yell, "Can I have this redone? I have cancer!" Then people ask what stage, and I have to say, "Well, technically, I'm cancer-free." Thankfully, the cancer was all removed with surgery and my six-month and one-year scans have since been clear. But I try to have a sense of humor about everything, even that. 

How Hollywood Has Changed

What I miss most, and what scares me about comedy in general, is the loss of context and nuance. I'm able to look at my own work from 30 years ago and acknowledge that I definitely would not say 25 percent of the show today. But now, we're in such a time, exacerbated by social media, where we really have this universal lack of forgiveness.

In many ways, if that famous 2017 photo of me holding a decapitated Donald Trump head-actually a Halloween mask on a wig holderhad not been shared on social media first, who knows what life it would have had?