EDGE Interview: Kathy Griffin Levels Up for Her New 'My Life on the PTSD List' Tour

As for Rife: "When you have Matt Rife opening for his largely female audience with a domestic violence joke about how the hostess has a black eye and maybe they should have kept her in the kitchen. Yeah, I guess that you're trying to make a point that, 'Oh, I'm shocking. Yeah, don't talk to me about it.' I tried to cut the president's head off [metaphorically] and I paid the price for it."

It's clear Griffin is still suffering not only from the backlash of the Trump photo, but everything that's happened to her since. So much so she's put her mental health status in the title of the tour and even she admits she will be flying by the seat of her pants on stage. She has her setlist ready, but there will also be some improvisation as things come to her. With this being an election cycle year, people such as George Santos, Marjorie Taylor Green, and Ted Cruz could be punchline cannon fodder.

"They've all come after me on social media," she says. "I have all of their tweets and all of their posts and all of them saying I should go to Guantanamo Bay now that QAnon thinks I'm harvesting baby parts with Hillary Clinton, Madonna, and Tom Hanks. I mean, it never stops. Now that is punching up if you're gonna make fun of the QAnon."

"And remember there are millions –- millions of Americans that believe QAnon bullshit. And these are the people that are rubbing horse dewormer on their own arm. And I'm talking to you Joe Rogan –- I mean, Doctor Joe Rogan," Griffin adds. "This country has never been so divided and yet there's still a line where you can go, 'I'm gonna make fun of these things but like, I'm not gonna actually make fun of the stuff that people really, really believe because it could be harmful. But I'm gonna correct Aaron fucking Rogers when he says Sandy Hook was a false flag.'"

Even though it's been seven years Griffin is still up against a lot. She says her PTSD is collectively the nation's when it comes to political pressure. The conservative right has really gotten under her skin enough, so she jokingly admits she would vote for a corpse as long as it was liberal.

"People have lost their minds in several areas," she contends. "So I love Joe Biden because he's nice and boring. I don't care if he's 107, he's only 18 months older than Trump. I would vote for Joe Biden's dead body over Donald Trump. You heard me!"

It is as if, speaking in gamer terms, Griffin has been in a boss battle with her own country. She hasn't fully won, but she's slowly dwindling its life gauge. But thanks to some serious grinding, her game has leveled up and it's called "My Life on the PTSD List."

Whatever she's bringing to the stage, "It's not gonna be the same thing I said at the show before," she laughs. "Every show is different."

"Kathy Griffin: My Life on the PTSD List" is a live stand-up special that goes on through December 2024 in cities across North America. Check out her website for details and ticket information.