In Advance of Upcoming Agora Show, Kathy Griffin Talks About Kicking Cancer and Overcoming PTSD

I saw you here once at Playhouse Square. I thought it was a great show, and the crowd loved it. Talk about coming back to Cleveland and what you look forward to?
I love playing Cleveland because Cleveland is a “no BS” town. I mean, what joke can I make about Cleveland that is really gonna shock you guys at this point? It’s all fair game.

Much has changed for you in the past few years. Your tour’s title says it all. Talk about how you came up with the title?
I was actually diagnosed with complex PTSD. I think some of the things that probably led to it were everything from the Dept. of Justice investigation over my controversial Trump photo to getting lung cancer even though I never smoked. There’s also a bunch of dark other stuff I made fun of because I truly believe that when you’re facing the most adversity is when you should try your hardest to look for the funny.

Beating cancer couldn’t have been easy. What was the key to overcoming it and learning to live with the consequences?
Well, my voice is altered a little bit, and so I make jokes about it because it is what it is. Sometimes, necessity is the mother of invention. So, the more life throws at me, the more hilarious I become. I have to [joke about these things]. That’s how I get through. As cliché as that sounds, it really is true. But I want you to know I also have a ton of classic Kathy Griffin style celebrity stories from my most recent encounters.

Do you joke about your other setbacks: your divorce, your mother’s death and your suicide attempt?
Yes, I joke about it all. I’m 63, single, and sexy. Can ya handle it??

You were one of the early ones to take on Trump. Do you feel like you took one for the team by coming out against him early on?
Yes! The team left me hanging. But somehow it seems enough time has passed, and the phone has finally started ringing again. I am so thrilled to be in the middle of this 50+ city tour!

You always pack a lot of material into a single show. Is that still the case or has the PTSD slowed you down? I totally understand if it has.
I do at least two hours by myself every show. I still don’t have an opening act. And a couple of times I’ve accidentally gone over two hours. I’m so excited about this new material, and I always love trying new stuff out. Just know that after everything that’s happened, I’m still not holding back one bit. I’m Kathy Griffin, and I never learn my lesson.