But it's not just for the hell of it. Since that photo emerged in May, Griffin has been living a "nightmare", dealing with the backlash and battling not only the White House, the press and Trump supporters, but also sexism and ageism in the entertainment industry.
She recalls how TV host Bill Maher used the N-word on television and came back from it with the full support of the network, and how Johnny Depp joked about assassinating Trump at Glastonbury and bounced back, "But when it's a 57-year-old female who doesn't have a TV show or a movie franchise ... a wall of crap fell on me".
"It's been a nightmare. [But] I would love to take the audience through everything because so much happened that was awful but was also kind of funny, like I got a consolation note from Billy Bush. Take that in, honey. Just take that in," she says.
"Like I might have taken a picture you didn't like but I don't grab pussies and I don't encourage people to - I don't really wanna be in that same basket."
After everything that happened, Griffin realised she had to do two things: Make a living - easier said than done with networks CNN and CBS forsaking her amid the scandal - and make a stand.
"I just started getting down to work and saying 'I'm not gonna let this guy keep me down'. My audiences have traditionally been disenfranchised people, LGBT people, women - this is a chance for me to get out there and say, if this happens to you, you don't have to be afraid, you can pull yourself up by your bootstraps and get out there and tell your offensive jokes, and make everybody laugh at this ridiculous situation," she says.
"More and more younger female comedians were reaching out to me saying, 'we're scared and we're all watching you and we're afraid to be in your situation'. So I think it's important for me to get up there and do it."
But that doesn't mean this isn't still a risk. Griffin says, "I'm completely concerned, but what else can I do?
"It wouldn't surprise me if Trump himself had some reaction to me even doing this tour, so I don't know what's going to happen. I just know he's nuts, possibly a Nazi. I'm not a fan of the first family, I don't think this federal investigation of me was anything but total BS and I think there's a total double standard and gender politics and ageism floating around, but you know what? I've had a pretty big mouth my whole career and I'm not gonna stop now."
LOWDOWN:
What: Kathy Griffin's Laugh Your Head Off world tour
When: October 19
Where: Auckland's Bruce Mason Centre
Tickets/Info: Livenation.co.nz
