During an appearance with Andy Cohen on Friday, Anderson Cooper spoke about Kathy Griffin’s recent photo controversy, and he wishes Griffin well.
“She and I have been friends for a long time and I want nothing but good things for her,” the 50-year-old newscaster said.
According to USA Today, CNN fired Griffin from the New Year’s Eve hosting duties she shared with Cooper after a controversial photo in which she held a bloody head of President Trump.
Cooper posted on his Twitter account on May 30 that he found the photo “clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate.” The statement surprised some fans, who knew of the longtime friendship between the two.
But on Friday, he talked about the situation and clarified that he has no ill will toward the comedian or her career.
“I don’t want anybody’s career to be destroyed because they do something unfortunate and inappropriate, but yeah, I thought what she did was inappropriate,” he explained. “You know, I think I said that I thought it was completely inappropriate and I didn’t approve it in any way, and I think when you’re friends with somebody you can say that.”
He and Cohen said that people began tagging Cooper on social media when the photo initially came out.
“People were assuming I was somehow responsible for this and I just felt I should point out that I actually think this is pretty important as somebody who works overseas and, you know, journalists get beheaded and this is not a joke,” Cooper shared.
“Anyway, I said that and CNN made the decision not to bring her back,” Cooper added. “I had nothing to do with it, but I certainly understand why they made that decision. And look, I wish her well and I hope she bounces back and keeps doing what she does best, which is make people laugh.”
Cooper’s appearance comes just a week after Griffin held a press con about the controversial photo. She burst into tears when she discussed Cooper, saying that they had not spoken since the incident. She also choked up when she was asked if CNN pressured Cooper into sending the tweet.
“That hurt, that’s all,” she shared.
