Kathy Griffin’s comeback wins the night at Carnegie Hall, despite the Trumpian turmoil outside

Overclock to A nail-biting choiceslots of people with steadfast political beliefs and questionable moral values ​​came to New York from far away. They made the pilgrimage with a purpose and came to the city to attend an event hosted by their favorite former reality star. This was their chance to show their support for someone who had built up their loyal following by “telling it like it is” – damn the consequences.

Once you get past the identifying details, it’s almost scary how similar the crimson-haired comedian is Kathy Griffin and a political lightning rod Donald Trump they are related to each other. They both capitalized on their fame through hugely successful youth reality shows; both used television to become staples of the zeitgeist for a new generation; and both cases were investigated at the federal level. Yet Griffin and Trump couldn’t be more different, which is why it’s almost cosmically funny that these rivals are scheduled to perform on the same weekend in late October, in the same city, 20 blocks from each other.

Griffin’s “My Life On Post-traumatic stress disorder “Letter” ended at New York’s historic Carnegie Hall on October 26, less than 24 hours before Trump took the stage for his rally in the decidedly less elegant hall Madison Square Garden. Although the two events did not coincide, Trump’s presence was felt in the streets outside Griffin’s. Supporters of the former president parked their souped-up pickup trucks covered in tacky stickers and flags in front of Carnegie Hall, erupting Children’s Rock music and holding Styrofoam busts bearing a faint resemblance to Griffin. (The shade of red chosen for the wig was incorrect.)

While the Trump rally was a disturbing combination racist slurs and terrifying promise, Griffin’s performance was a spectacle of raw, forceful talent. Her audience laughed their asses off for two straight hours as the comedian went through a list of things she’s been through since Trump’s election in 2016. Like Griffin’s Emmy-winning Bravo show.My life is on the D list” – the new stand-up tour deftly combines scandalous stories about Griffin’s feuds with celebrities with thoughtful reflections on life, death and moving forward in the public eye. At 63, Griffin’s humor has never been more refined; her timing is impeccable, her anecdotes are fresh, and her answers are brilliant. “My Life on the PTSD List” is a middle finger to anyone who thought Kathy Griffin should lay down and die, from a woman who came out of that same thought.

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Griffin’s reluctance to step into the background certainly angered her detractors, but the blatant display of political extremism off the show only excited Griffin’s fans, who wondered whether the comedian would address this nonsense on stage. After all, the Styrofoam bust with the discolored wig was a riff Griffin’s infamous photo holding a head resembling a bloody Trump. The backlash was immediate and severe from the moment the photo hit the Internet in 2017. Despite Griffin’s quick apology – an unusual move for a comedian known for his uncompromising nature – it was too late: the backlash cost Griffin everything she had. To make matters worse, Griffin appeared in the photo examined by the Department of Justice and the Secret Service, placing her on the no-fly list and ending any remaining prospects of live stand-up work.

This experience alone would make for a TV series about PTSD, but as Griffin says, the worst moment of her life was just the beginning. In 2021, she was diagnosed with lung cancer, which made it difficult for her to speak, and her battle with prescription pill addiction was hot on her heels. At her worst, Griffin tried to commit suicide. “The worst part of trying to take your life is waking up and finding out you didn’t make it,” Griffin told the audience at Carnegie Hall, who reacted with equal parts shock and laughter. This performance is Griffin’s darkest performance to date, but you wouldn’t know that from the crowd’s reaction. Before the show, she warned us that things would get scary but that things would remain fun, and that was a promise Griffin never went back on.

After a well-deserved standing ovation to open her set, Griffin got down to business, stopping occasionally to bask in the applause and cheers. She even gave some credit to her mother, Maggie Griffin, who stole so many scenes in My D-List Life that she became a star in her own right before her death in 2020. Griffin mirrored the audience’s applause for Maggie by raising her hands to Heaven after thereby bowing back towards Hell. As the noise in the crowd doubled, Griffin comically crossed her fingers before continuing her performance. Moments later, as if by divine intervention from her mother, Griffin’s Valentino belt popped from around her waist and hit the stage with a bang. Being the consummate professional she is, she turned it into a punchline and continued with the show.

Even if this tour is a victory lap of sorts, Griffin won’t rest on his laurels. She made a name for herself in stand-up comedy, presenting audiences with juicy stories about elite celebrities, twisted into uncompromising anecdotes that made her a touchy-feely figure in Hollywood. In her old stand-ups, it’s not uncommon to hear Griffin hurling profanities like “slut” or “cokehead” at celebrities. However, the humor has changed in the age of the Internet, and even though Griffin is now essentially irrevocable, he has softened his touch accordingly, admitting that he falls into the tax bracket he mocks. It tells stories about the trials of existence Kim Kardashianneighbor, expressing surprise that Kardashian would even want to hang out with her after Griffin had been calling Kardashian a “dirty whore” for years.

Griffin lightheartedly explores the contradiction between her envelope-pushing persona and the buttoned-up charm of an A-list star to reveal that even the biggest stars are just as absurd as the rest of us. Her naked encounter stories Sharon Stone for dinner, Sia’s penchant for singing and Jane Fonda making the world’s worst quesadilla is hysterical, but even those on the verge of fame rely on Griffin’s perspective. She often tells stories that are born out of heartbreak and trauma, emphasizing that some of her funniest experiences with other celebrities were a result of Griffin enduring the merciless scrutiny she once heaped upon them.

But there’s no denying that the microscope Griffin found herself under was much more damning. As she delves into Trump’s photo — or, as she puts it, “a Halloween mask covered in ketchup” — and all that it has brought her, her performance enters its most telling moment. Griffin knows how to make a meal out of his trauma, expertly injecting plenty of levity into the darkness. When Griffin started talking about her suicide attempt, all the air left the room. However, she hoped that the crowd would hold their breath and prepared a punchline to ease the tension.

“I thought, ‘Okay, now I’m on my own, now I’ll do it,’” she said. “Then, I’m not even kidding, I started walking around the house looking for ideas.” Griffin marched across the stage, imitating the way she walked through the house, looking for ways to take her own life. Unable to fold herself into a huge decorative vase and roll into the pool, she decided to drink 100 benzos. It’s difficult, sure, but Griffin isn’t downplaying the gruesome grimness of suicide, she’s highlighting how foolish and shortsighted our darkest impulses can be.

It’s a difficult route and a balancing act that not every comedian can handle. But after so many years in the industry, Griffin knows how to maneuver an audience and hold it in his hands like putty. In a time when it seems like TikTok comedians are constantly competing for popularity by saying the most offensive things imaginable, Griffin reiterates that any worthwhile comic should keep the audience in the joke. A good stand-up comedian should walk hand in hand with his audience, traversing the darkness to emerge into the light together.

A memorable set will challenge the viewer in equal measure to inform and delight them, and Griffin’s “My Life on the PTSD List” deftly handles all three. At the end of the two-hour performance, Griffin was still energized, perhaps thanks to the vocal cord implant she had received just nine weeks earlier, which strengthened her once-weakened voice and returned it to its former thunder. With the restoration of her honest, unique comedic voice, Griffin is stronger than ever. At the end of her performance, she assured the audience that she wasn’t going anywhere. “I’m like this belt,” Griffin said, holding up her cracked Valentino accessory and holding it out toward the audience. “Broken, but still here.”