Kathy Griffin accuses Donald Trump of 'trying to ruin my life' after severed-head photoshoot

Kathy Griffin, the American comedian who sparked outrage by staging a photoshoot with Donald Trump’s severed head, has accused the president of trying to destroy her.

Griffin, 56, broke down in tears on Friday at a press conference called with womens’ rights lawyer Lisa Bloom. 

“I don’t think I will have a career after this,” she said. 

“I’m going to be honest. He broke me.”

But she then struck a defiant tone.

"If you don't stand up, you get run over. "What's happening to me has never happened in this great country. A sitting president of the US is personally trying to ruin my life forever."

Ms Bloom said that her client had been “bullied” by the Trumps.

"As a result of the first family bullying her, she has been vilified, getting death threats, fired from multiple jobs and had multiple events cancelled," she said.

The Secret Service, she said, have been involved – something they refused to confirm. 

However, the agency routinely investigates comments that might be deemed threatening to a president – such as the 2012 comments by rock musician Ted Nugent, ahead of the election, that “we need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November.”

Mr Trump said that Griffin "should be ashamed of herself", and the image was condemned across the political spectrum, with everyone from Sarah Palin to Chelsea Clinton saying it was unacceptable.

The photos were published on Tuesday, and the outcry was immediate.

Griffin apologised for the "disturbing" images, taken by provocative celebrity photographer Tyler Shields, later that day.

"I beg for your forgiveness. I went too far," she said in a video posted to Instagram late on Tuesday. "I made a mistake and I was wrong."

On Wednesday Griffin was fired from her role hosting CNN's New Year's Eve programme, which she had co-hosted alongside Anderson Cooper since 2007. Cooper had immediately condemned her actions, stating: “For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in. It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate.”

Griffin said her termination was "hurtful."

It was followed by the cancellation of an endorsement deal with Squatty Potty, a line of bathroom footstools, and at least five of her stand-up shows.

"Kathy never imagined it could be misinterpreted as a threat of violence against Trump. That was never what she intended," said Ms Bloom.

Griffin and Ms Bloom said they believe she has received harsher backlash because she is female.

"This is a woman thing," Griffin said.

But she said that she would continue to mock Mr Trump.

“I’m not afraid of Donald Trump.

“He’s a bully. I’ve dealt with older white guys trying to keep me down my whole life, my whole career.”