CNN has terminated its relationship with Kathy Griffin after the comedian posed for a photograph while holding a fake, bloodied decapitated head meant to resemble the head of President Donald Trump.
“CNN has terminated our agreement with Kathy Griffin to appear on our New Year’s Eve program,” the network’s communications department tweeted Wednesday morning.
Griffin had co-hosted CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live broadcast each January since 2007 alongside the network’s lead anchor, Anderson Cooper.
Cooper took to Twitter late Tuesday night to say he was “appalled” by his co-host’s photo.
“For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in,” the Anderson Cooper 360 host wrote. “It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate.”
The shocking photograph, first published by TMZ Tuesday morning, was taken during a photo shoot conducted by the 56-year-old My Life on the D-List comedian and Los Angeles-based artist and photographer Tyler Shields, who is reportedly known for his provocative work.
The photo caused a firestorm online, where it quickly circulated and led to calls for a boycott of Griffin’s work, including her current cross-country comedy tour.
The comedian apologized in a brief video posted to her Twitter account Tuesday, saying she had “crossed the line” and that the image had gone “too far.”
