Kathy Griffin Got Canceled During Trump's First Term. Now, She's Back for Round Two.

Roughly seven years after posting an infamous photo that changed her life, comedian Kathy Griffin is finally returning to the stage.

Griffin, arguably one of the most game-changing pioneers for women in comedy, will stop by the Fillmore Miami Beach on Saturday, February 15, as part of her latest comedy tour, "My Life on the PTSD List." The tour's name is a nod to her aughts Bravo reality TV show, My Life on the D-List, which ran for six seasons and touched on her comedic struggle to fit in with the Hollywood ultra-elite. This time, having been through a series of tremendously draining life events in the past decade, Griffin is getting real in a completely different way.

In 2017, Griffin's career took a dramatic turn when she posted a controversial photo on her social media channels in which she held up the bloodied, severed head of an effigy of President Donald Trump. The image, shot by provocateur photographer Tyler Shields, immediately went viral. The backlash was swift and severe, leading to a period of intense scrutiny and professional setbacks just as conversations about so-called "cancel culture" began to escalate nationally.

Amid the fallout, Griffin was placed on several international watch lists. She also says she lost "about 75 percent" of her friends. "Some of it was very public, with people ditching me and making their fucking statements," she tells New Times. "It [ranged] from the No Fly List to the INTERPOL [International Criminal Police Organization] list, to the Five Eyes [an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States] list...[At] every airport I went to, I was detained. They take your passport and your phone and they put you in a detention room. And it happened everywhere, from LAX to JFK, London, Bucha, Singapore."

Life also threw other curveballs at the veteran comic, including everything from a tough battle with lung cancer to divorce, the death of her mother, and a prescription pill addiction that nearly led to suicide. The onslaught of traumas was such that, when she's asked how she's doing today, Griffin simply replies, "I'm just grateful to be alive."

Speaking over the phone, Griffin does sound like she has a newfound zest for life. Perhaps that comes with having a concrete diagnosis for her complex mental health journey. Or, it could have something to do with her new, no-fucks-given attitude toward Trump being back in the Oval Office.

"I'm touching on the PTSD stuff because I also kind of think, as a country, we're going through a collective PTSD," Griffin explains. "I went to a party recently of about 20 women, and the topic of discussion was how none of us can get out of bed because we're officially in a state of fascism. Now that Trump is back in office, someone even asked me, 'Are you going to wait for the feds to knock at your door?' And I said, 'Honey, I've had the feds knock at my door. I actually know exactly what to do.' It's crazy because, throughout my 30-plus year career, I've made fun of every fucking president — Democrat or Republican — but I've never actually done it in a fascistic society. So let's see if I get shot on stage or not. Hopefully not."

If you're familiar with her past work, Griffin's candor is nothing new. And it could be more necessary than ever as public skepticism mounts over fears of a potential oligarchic coup by tech moguls such as Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos.

"I punch up," says Griffin. "I've always done that. I make fun of people that are rich, millionaire celebrities, heads of state. I can do 20 minutes on Viktor Orban [the Prime Minister of Hungary]. Hell, I can do an hour on [Vladimir] Putin."

Last year, with her sixth show at Carnegie Hall, Griffin broke the record for the most shows performed by a solo female comedian at the historic venue — a record previously held by the late Joan Rivers. Even more impressively, amid her battle with cancer, Griffin performed in front of thousands of people after having half her left lung removed.

But there's one record Griffin is particularly proud of — one she hopes her Miami audience will especially appreciate. "I've performed on — get ready — 18 gay cruises. Let me tell you something, honey: You might think you party, or you might think you've had some wild nights in your day. Step aside, sweetheart. You've got nothing on those gays."

In that spirit, despite the challenges she's faced and the political deja vu she's experiencing right now, Griffin assures her 90-minute Fillmore set will still deliver the celebrity-focused humor for which she's best known. Among the anecdotes she'll share is one about a recent girls' trip to Mexico with Australian singer Sia, during which the pair got last-minute facelifts and recovered at a private property they rented together.

Griffin adds she's a Miami fanatic with an intense love of Cuban food and the Estefans. She says she's been such good friends with Gloria that she once had the former Miami Sound Machine frontwoman get onstage during a set to sing some impromptu salsa music.

"I still have a lot of the good celebrity razzle-dazzle," says Griffin. "It's not like a heavy comedy show. But be on time — I have no opener. I write all my own shit, and I do two hours if I'm a good girl; two hours and 15 minutes if I'm a bad girl. Try not to walk out (although I don't mind a healthy walkout). I don't want anybody to leave in tears, including the celebrities that I make fun of…and I take down as many as I can."

Kathy Griffin: My Life On The PTSD-List. 8 p.m. Saturday, February 15, at the Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-673-7300; fillmore-miami.com. Tickets cost $53 to $118.50.