'I went way too far': Kathy Griffin sorry for Trump severed head photoshoot, fired from CNN

WARNING: Readers may find the following content distressing.

Kathy Griffin has issued an apology over her controversial Donald Trump photoshoot where she posed with a fake bloody head resembling the president.

The 56-year-old comedian and actress took part in a shoot with photographer Tyler Shields in which she posed with the bloody head and was quickly met with widespread condemnation.

Following the backlash, Griffin issued a video statement saying she crossed the line.

Kathy Griffin issued an apology after there was wide-spread backlash to her video. Source: Kathy Griffin

"I am just now seeing the reaction of these images. I'm a comic. I crossed the line. I move the line, then I cross it. I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people. It wasn't funny. I get it," she said.

"I beg for your forgiveness. I went too far. I made a mistake and I was wrong."

The backlash didn't stop there after she was later fired from CNN.

Griffin later appeared in a video, apologising for the original photoshoot. Source: Kathy Griffin

"CNN has terminated our agreement with Kathy Griffin to appear on our New Year's Eve program," the network said in a statement.

CNN anchor (and Griffin’s New Year’s Eve co-host and close friend) Anderson Cooper tweeted, “For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in. It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate”.

Kathy Griffin posts apology over severed Trump head stunt

''''

President Donald Trump responded to the video and said "Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself".

Griffin said she was going to ask Tyler to remove the picture from his website and social media accounts.

Meanwhile, Tyler told Fox News that Griffin wanted to make a political statement.

"Kathy and I are friends and we worked together before, so when we started doing this shoot, she said, 'I'd love to do something political. I'd love to make a statement'. We kind of figured out what would be the best image to make out of that," he said.

He went on to defend the photograph.

The photographer has defended the photo. He said "that's what art is". Source: Kathy Griffin

"That's what art is meant to do. Some people look at it and they love it. Some people look at it and they hate it... I understand there are going to be people that hate this. It's a very touchy subject... but this is not real. We didn't kill anybody nor do I feel anybody should be killed. It's no different from a movie. It just happens to be a still image."

The US Secret Service, responsible for presidential security, has opened an inquiry into the posting of Griffin posing with the severed-head replica, a spokesman in Los Angeles confirmed.

They were asked whether the agency was looking into the incident as a potential threat on the president’s life.

“We’re aware of it and we’re investigating it,” the spokesman, George Fernandez, told Reuters.