Comedian Kathy Griffin revealed Monday that she has been diagnosed with lung cancer.
Update 4:23 p.m. ET Aug. 2: A representative for Griffin confirmed to People magazine late Monday afternoon that the comic is recovering from surgery.
“She is now out of surgery, and everything went well, per her doctor,” the rep told People.
Original report: In a post published Monday morning on social media, Griffin said she was getting ready to undergo surgery “to have half of my left lung removed.”
“Yes, I have lung cancer even though I’ve never smoked!” the 60-year-old wrote.
“The doctors are very optimistic as it is stage one and contained to my left lung. Hopefully no chemo or radiation after this and I should have normal function with my breathing. I should be up and running around as usual in a month or less.”
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) August 2, 2021
Griffin noted that she’s struggled with “a helluva 4 years,” an apparent reference to backlash she received after posing in 2017 with a prop made to look like what appeared to be the severed head of then-President Donald Trump. Several of her tour dates scheduled at the time were scrapped, and CNN, which had used Griffin in part of its New Year’s Eve coverage in past years, parted ways with the comic. Griffin later apologized, saying that she had “crossed the line.”
On Monday, she assured fans that despite her cancer diagnosis, she was “gonna be just fine.” She added that she has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
“The consequences for being unvaccinated would have been even more serious,” she wrote. “Please stay up to date on your medical check ups. It’ll save your life.”
In a clip of an interview with Griffin set to air later Monday on ABC’s “Nightline” program, the comedian said she was diagnosed with lung cancer about two weeks ago.
“I was definitely in shock,” she says in the 30-second clip. “I’m still a little bit in shock -- not denial, but I still, like, once a day I’ll just turn to, like, nobody next to me and say, ‘Can you believe this (expletive)?’”
In 2017, Griffin shaved her head in solidarity with her sister, Joyce, who was undergoing chemotherapy at the time. Her sister died later that year of cancer, the comic said.
Griffin’s older brother, Gary, also died in 2014 of esophageal cancer. Her mother, Maggie, died last year after being diagnosed with dementia, according to CNN.
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