Kathy Griffin, Rosie O’Donnell ‘threw it all away’ to fight Trump

Comedian Adam Carolla argued this week that some celebrities and politicians have sacrificed their careers and personal well-being by fixating on President Trump, singling out Rosie O’Donnell and Kathy Griffin as examples.

Mr. Carolla made the remarks during a conversation with Dr. Drew Pinsky on a recent episode of “The Adam & Dr. Drew Show,” saying that some politicians and celebrities have given up too much just to argue with the president.

“You’re a politician, and you think, ’I’m going to make change, and I’m going to stand up for this and I’m going to fix that,’ and all you’re doing is fighting with Trump,” Mr. Carolla said.

He extended that criticism to entertainers, saying Ms. O’Donnell and Ms. Griffin had abandoned their comedic roots. Mr. Carolla said the two comedians “could do it at a high level” but had “threw it all away to fight Trump.” 

The former “Man Show” host added: “I didn’t like Obama, but I didn’t give up on life to fight Obama.”

Dr. Pinsky suggested that such individuals may lack someone in their lives willing to confront them, saying it would otherwise be “hard to keep doing it month after month.” Mr. Carolla theorized that anyone who raised such a concern “would be expelled from that person’s life.”

Mr. Carolla also offered a theory for why financially comfortable comedians might spiral in this direction. He argued that when a comedian steps back from performing and no longer needs to work, “that mind will start wandering on you.” His prescription: “What you need to do at that point is go build a gazebo. You need to get up and get out … you need a project.”

Ms. O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her teenage daughter in January 2025, shortly before Mr. Trump’s second inauguration. She quietly returned to the United States for a two-week family visit in February 2026. In a December 2025 interview with The Washington Post, Ms. O’Donnell said her therapist urged her to “detach” from posting about Mr. Trump on social media, but she gave up on the plan within hours. 

Ms. Griffin, meanwhile, declared herself “uncanceled” in a February interview with NPR affiliate WUSF, nearly nine years after she sparked a firestorm by posting a photo of herself holding a bloodied mask resembling Mr. Trump’s head. On her podcast “Talk Your Head Off with Kathy Griffin,” she urged listeners to speak with their neighbors and find out if they are “MAGA or not,” saying it was important to know “who’s on our team.”