Kathy Griffin is sharing an update about her voice after her cancer surgery.
The comedian, 61, did her first standup set on Saturday since she had half of her lung removed last August. Because one of her vocal cords was left paralyzed from the surgery, she’s been “very self-conscious” about her voice, she admitted. She said some audience members laughed during her set, unaware of her health challenges. She said her voice is keeping her from going on tour.
“OK, I’m very self-conscious about this but I wanted to let you guys know exactly where my voice is in context of when I can go back to working,” she shared on Instagram.
“I had the privilege of doing a stand up set at an LGBT charity ball Saturday night,” Griffin continued. “I was asked to roast the honoree and she was a fantastic laugher and let me really have at her.”
However, “when I first walked out on stage … and I started speaking in my whisper voice some folks in the audience laughed because they didn’t know about my situation. Then I explained it and they were kind of stunned for about two minutes. Then the most amazing thing happened. The audience, and granted this was a very forgiving and loving audience, actually adjusted to me!”
She said the audience got quiet and listened closely to hear “what I was saying through my poor little paralyzed left vocal cord after my cancer surgery.”
Griffin said she didn’t go into detail about it during the show — “I was having too much fun doing ‘the assignment'” — but she wanted fans to know that while she’d “love to go back on tour as soon as possible … I just don’t know how strong my voice will ever be.”
She asked fans to wish her luck as she takes “pathology lessons and all that other boring stuff so I can go back to projecting,” before adding, as only she would, “Well, not projecting in the way that Republicans think all Democrats are pedophiles when actually they’re the ones who are constantly getting arrested for exposing themselves to kids and stuff, but projecting more in a theatrical sense.”
Griffin shared a clip from her first set back and the audience was laughing and clearly entertained despite her voice challenges.
The My Life on the D-List star shared in early August that she had been diagnosed with lung cancer — and the article came out as she was undergoing surgery to remove half of her lung. Griffin “never smoked,” she said. At the time, she also revealed that she was sober after a painkiller addiction and would be recovering from surgery with nothing more than Tylenol.
“To be honest, this cancer surgery was a little more than I had anticipated,” she admitted days after the surgery.
In February, Griffin shared a video of herself skinny-dipping to celebrate a clean six-month, post-surgery scan.
The funny woman has given a series of candid interviews as she’s recovered, not shying away from sharing her two cents on any and all controversies, including those involving Louis C.K., Joe Rogan and nemesis Andy Cohen.
“I’m just trying to get uncanceled, make a living again, and recover from f****** cancer,” Griffin, who infamously mocked then-President Trump, told Interview last week.
