Entertainment

Kathy Griffin's North American comeback tour to start in Canada

The beleaguered comedian has picked Toronto to open her Laugh Your Head Off tour on May 25, following the Trump photo backlash.

The comedian will launch her tour with 4 Canadian dates following Trump photo backlash

Comedian Kathy Griffin is kicking off her North American tour in Canada this May to try and reclaim her comedy throne after becoming embroiled in controversy last year. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

Beleaguered comedian Kathy Griffin is launching her North American comeback on the stages of Canada.

The insult comic and celebrity gossip hound — who became embroiled in controversy after posing in a photo holding a fake severed head that shared a likeness with U.S. President Donald Trump — has picked Toronto to open her Laugh Your Head Off North American tour on May 25.

She'll follow that with three more Canadian dates: Kitchener, Ont., (May 26), Calgary (May 31) and Vancouver (June 2), before moving south to the United States.
In 2017, Kathy Griffin held a press conference to apologize for a controversial photo shoot where she was holding a bloodied mask depicting President Donald Trump. After a year of facing backlash and touring overseas, Griffin is finally able to continue her Laugh Your Head Off tour in North America. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Griffin will perform in San Francisco, Seattle, Boston and New York's Carnegie Hall in June, with further dates to be announced later.

In a release for the tour, Griffin promised to tell "the whole story" about the Trump photo, including her "interrogation by the feds," and her thoughts on her neighbours Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.

The performances come as Griffin tries to reclaim her comedy throne after the Trump photo shoot led to a backlash and the cancellation of several tour dates last year. She also lost her longtime New Year's Eve hosting gig on CNN.

Kathy Griffin on Trump: 'I'm going to make fun of him more now'

8 years ago
Duration 0:26
Kathy Griffin on Trump: 'I'm going to make fun of him more now'

Unable to tour in the United States, Griffin went overseas to perform a number of dates in various places, including London, Stockholm, Singapore and Australia.

Initially, Griffin apologized for the photo that appeared last May, taken by photographer Tyler Shields.

But she later said she was no longer sorry, because the reaction had gotten so out of hand.