Kathy Griffin has her voice back. Recently, a new implant in her left vocal cord has fixed the squeaky whisper marring her speech for four years. “It’s a freaking miracle,” Griffin says.
Her original voice is back in a broader sense, too. “Honey, it’s been a rough few years,” the Grammy-winning comic, actor, producer, best-selling author and activist elaborates, “the Trump thing, the cancer, the divorce.” The 2017 “Trump thing” (holding a severed Trump mask covered in ketchup) included being investigated by the government, placement on the national No Fly list and being unable to travel for performances.
Griffin’s mother passed in March 2020, and a pill addiction led to Griffin’s suicide attempt that June. After six years away from the stage, Griffin now returns with resilient, new material for her extended “My Life on the PTSD-List” tour, which reaches the Wiltern Theatre on Wednesday, Sept. 18.
The tour name references her Emmy-winning TV series as well as ongoing challenges like staying sober, ignoring death threats, moving past lost CNN deals and committing to therapy for complex PTSD. Griffin’s comedy remains story-oriented. Her shows are filled with repeat diehards and locally tailored, including personal roasts of audiences in each city.
She hasn’t had an opener in 25 years, and Griffin still stays onstage for two-plus hours. Some of her stories take a more serious tone these days. For example, “a story about how I very seriously tried.