Kathy Griffin Blasts CNN and Jeff Zucker in New Year’s Eve Tweetstorm: ‘The Boys Get Paid Much, Much More’
Actress and comedian Kathy Griffin famously lost her gig co-hosting CNN’s New Year’s Eve coverage after her controversial photo shoot with a fake severed head of President Donald Trump. Hours before CNN’s coverage on New Year’s Eve 2018, Griffin took to Twitter for a thread about the gig and how she was paid – or not paid, to be more accurate.
“I worked my way up by the 10th year at CNN to get a fee of $150,000,” Griffin tweeted early Monday morning. “By the way, just as a point of reference, Anderson Cooper regularly bragged for years that his annual CNN contract was $10 million a year.”
The thread began with her thanks to fans and the promise of “juicy gossip.”
A) I’m so flattered and touched by all the comments saying that you miss me co-hosting the New Year’s Eve telecast. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the positivity and I want you to know how grateful I am. So, I wanted to share some juicy gossip I heard about the telecast…
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) December 31, 2018
The gossip was about who would (or would not) be co-hosting, which is what led to the tweets about pay. She took shots at both CNN honcho Jeff Zucker and anchor and New Year’s Eve co-host Anderson Cooper, as well as the entertainment industry as a whole.
K) I didn’t hear anything about what Leslie‘s fee will be on NBC, but I really hope it is AT LEAST $150,000 because that is a nice paycheck and it’s what she deserves.
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) December 31, 2018
L) I worked my way up by the 10th year at CNN to get a fee of $150,000. By the way, just as a point of reference, Anderson Cooper regularly bragged for years that his annual CNN contract was $10 million a year.
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) December 31, 2018
That was a not too subtle jab, but it got even less subtle as the thread continued. She acknowledged that it’s a large sum…
M) I know $150,000 is a hell of lot of money for one night of work (although when I was doing it, I certainly put in more than one night of work) but trust me Leslie has paid her dues and when you are a female comic starting out you do gigs for free sometimes for years.
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) December 31, 2018
And then went after Zucker, claiming that he punished her request for a raise by reducing her check.
N) The first two years I appeared on CNN, it didn’t even occur to me to ask for a salary. The 8th year when I asked Jeff Zucker for a raise, he was so angry he docked me 30%. I’m sorry to say I took the pay cut because I truly enjoyed making you all laugh.
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) December 31, 2018
She also said it’s a typical pay gap in her industry. “The boys get paid much, much more in the comedy industry,” she said, noting that Leslie Jones ended up going with NBC rather than CNN, “and that is a fact I know a lot about.”
O) I really hope @Lesdoggg has been paid fairly for New Years…but I'm not optimistic. The boys get paid much, much more in the comedy industry and that is a fact I know a lot about.
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) December 31, 2018
So far there is no response from CNN.
(Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
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