--- description: CNN fired the longtime co-host of its New Year's Eve show following the controversial posting of an image of President Donald Trump's head title: CNN Fires Kathy Griffin Following Controversial Trump Photo image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt496b799fb19a6ee1/6988cf7fe76ad2371662dae8/gettyimages-609455730.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # CNN Fires Kathy Griffin Following Controversial Donald Trump Photo by [Aric Jenkins](/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 31, 2017 6:06 PM CUT  Kathy Griffin attends the 5th annual Women Making History Brunch at Montage Beverly Hills on September 17, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. Kathy Griffin attends the 5th annual Women Making History Brunch at Montage Beverly Hills on September 17, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California.Tibrina Hobson—WireImage by [Aric Jenkins](/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 31, 2017 6:06 PM CUT It’s not going to be a very happy new year for Kathy Griffin. CNN on Wednesday fired the longtime co-host of its _New Year’s Eve Live_ program following the [controversial posting](http://time.com/4798172/kabul-explosion-nasa-sun-kathy-griffin/ "undefined") of an image showing Griffin holding the bloodied, severed head of President Donald Trump. “CNN has terminated our agreement with Kathy Griffin to appear on our New Year’s Eve program,” a tweet from the network’s communications department reads. > [](https://twitter.com/CNNPR/status/869965698969350144) A CNN spokesperson in an email confirmed to TIME that the decision is permanent. Griffin had co-hosted _New Year’s Eve Live_ with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper since 2007\. Last year marked Griffin’s 10th year co-hosting the annual program. The comedian became embroiled in controversy Tuesday after celebrity photographer Tyler Shields posted images of the pair’s photoshoot that drew immediate contempt from critics on both sides of the political spectrum. Griffin [issued an apology](http://time.com/4798864/kathy-griffin-donald-trump-head-tyler-shields/ "undefined") in a video message later that evening. “I sincerely apologize,” she said. “I went way too far.” Trump [responded](http://time.com/4799168/donald-trump-kathy-griffin/ "undefined") early Wednesday morning with a tweet deriding the entertainer, writing, “Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4799905/cnn-fires-kathy-griffin-donald-trump-photo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4799905/cnn-fires-kathy-griffin-donald-trump-photo/"},"headline":"CNN Fires Kathy Griffin Following Controversial Donald Trump Photo","datePublished":"2017-05-31T18:06:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T05:11:39.557Z","description":"Griffin had been co-hosting the show for a decade","url":"https://time.com/4799905/cnn-fires-kathy-griffin-donald-trump-photo/","keywords":["celebrities","CNN","Donald Trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt496b799fb19a6ee1/6988cf7fe76ad2371662dae8/gettyimages-609455730.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aric Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt496b799fb19a6ee1/6988cf7fe76ad2371662dae8/gettyimages-609455730.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"5th Annual Women Making History Brunch - Arrivals","caption":"5th Annual Women Making History Brunch - Arrivals","creditText":"Tibrina Hobson—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4799905/cnn-fires-kathy-griffin-donald-trump-photo/","name":"CNN Fires Kathy Griffin Following Controversial Donald Trump Photo"}}]}] ```