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Interviewing legendary comedian Kathy Griffin is about as easy as it gets. Speaking on the phone from her Malibu home in advance of her Feb. 28 standup show at the Newmark Theatre, Griffin gets right to it after saying hello.
“Can I tell you something juicy? Are you recording?”
Oh, we are. Griffin—a petite redheaded dynamo who has been in showbiz for decades and has two Emmys, a Grammy and a Guinness World Record under her belt—goes on to share that she just got banned from the stage of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., because first lady Melania Trump is on the board of trustees.
“It’s so petty I have to laugh,” says Griffin, who has played the Kennedy Center five times before.
Relevant context: In 2017, Griffin posed for a picture holding a mock-severed head of President Donald Trump. Griffin faced widespread cancellation and a spot on the federal no-fly list. (Ever the hustler, Griffin says viewers interested in the controversy can stream her 2019 film about it, Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story, on Amazon.)
Her story got even darker in the following years, when Griffin faced lung cancer, addiction, a vocal cord implant (“I call it my boob job in my neck”) and divorce, all topics that she addresses onstage on her current 75-stop tour My Life on the PTSD-List. It’s a play on the title of her Emmy-winning TV series My Life on the D-List from the late ‘00s, and also a nod to audiences about the content of the show.
“I’m talking about PTSD and some topics that, for me, are a little more on the serious side, but don’t worry!” she says. “I’m still giving a lot of that Kathy Griffin celebrity razzle dazzle and getting in trouble.”
Griffin is famous for dishing the best celebrity gossip and teases that her show at the Newmark will include stories about going to Sharon Stone’s house, attending Paris Hilton’s Christmas party with Rosie O’Donnell, and vacationing in Mexico with the singer Sia.
My Life on the PTSD-List started out as a 40-city tour and ballooned to 75, Griffin says, including gigs at iconic venues such as The Chicago Theatre in Chicago and New York’s Carnegie Hall. It’s not something she takes for granted after a six-year break from the road.
“Every show is a gift,” she says. “And I’m telling you, when I played Carnegie, at the end of the show, the audience stood. I know, I sound like an asshole saying that but I’m just being honest. And I got on my hands and knees and kissed the floor of Carnegie Hall I was so grateful.”
SEE IT: Kathy Griffin: My Life on the PTSD-List at the Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway Ave., 800-915-4698, portland5.com/newmark-theatre/events/kathy-griffin. 8 pm Friday, Feb. 28. $69.25–$111.25.