Kathy Griffin on her comeback: “I’m the same girl I’ve always been _ just a hardworking, obnoxious, red-haired”

Kathy Griffin has done an interview with the Associated Press. Here are some excerpts:
She will embark on a North American tour this summer, a year after she was widely condemned for posing for a picture in which she gripped a bloodied rendering of Donald Trump’s head.

“I’m the same girl I’ve always been _ just a hardworking, obnoxious, red-haired comedy girl. The whole time I’ve been consistent in just trying to make you laugh,” she says. “Am I shocking sometimes? For sure. Do I go too far? I hope so. That’s my job.”

Griffin insists that while she understands people don’t like the image, it is a form of free speech.
“If there’s one amendment I’m familiar with it’s the First Amendment. I know it back and forth and it’s how I make my living.”
The comedian’s life changed radically last May, when the image came out. Many colleagues, including Anderson Cooper, turned away. But one celebrity reached out, despite not knowing her well – Jim Carrey advised her to find the comedy in the situation.
“It was really meaningful to me that he called,” she says. “Jim’s advice was right on, which is, ‘Lean into this topic and you’ll find the comedy.’ And luckily I found a lot of comedy while hibernating.”

Unable to tour in the United States, Griffin has been overseas, performing in 23 cities in 15 countries. This summer she plans to tour in Mexico, Canada and the United States, including stops in San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Chicago and a sold-out gig at Carnegie Hall in New York.
“I’m trying to sort of get people to forgive me and get people to come back to me or give me a chance. And it’s interesting. It’s really like I’m starting all over again.”