Kathy Griffin is defending herself after drawing fierce criticism for participating in a photo shoot that featured her holding up a bloody head resembling President Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, celebrity photographer Tyler Shields, known for his provocative images, released photos he did with Griffin that immediately came under fire from people on Twitter, including the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr, who called the imagery “disgusting but not surprising.”
Griffin was accused of encouraging violence against the President.
“OBVIOUSLY, I do not condone ANY violence by my fans or others to anyone, ever!” Griffin wrote on Twitter. “I’m merely mocking the Mocker in Chief.”
Questions were also raised about whether the photos would affect Griffin’s relationship with CNN. The comedian is the longtime co-host of the network’s annual New Year’s Eve coverage.
CNN has not yet responded to request for comment.
By all indications, Griffin, an outspoken critic of Trump, knew the images would be controversial.
In a behind-the-scenes video posted by Shields, Griffin asserted to the camera that she and Shields were “not afraid to do images that make noise.”
In the same video, Griffin and Shields are shown presumably reviewing footage from their session, and Griffin jokes: “We have to move to Mexico today, but we’re going to go to prison — federal prison…We’re not surviving this, okay?”
Shields is well known for his envelope-pushing work.
His photos of a bloody, knife-wielding Lindsay Lohan were among his most headline-generating pictures to date.
The reaction to Griffin and Shield’s photos may have gained the attention of the Secret Service, as the agency tweeted late Tuesday that “threats made against @SecretService protectees receive the highest priority of all of our investigations.”
The tweet did not mention neither Griffin or Shields by name.