“He’d start to say stuff that made me uncomfortable,” Griffin said on “The View,” after announcing in 2021 that she was “cancer-free.”

Kathy Griffin says she lied about cancer returning to avoid car ride with driver who said ‘anti-gay’ things

"He'd start to say stuff that made me uncomfortable," Griffin said on "The View," after announcing in 2021 that she was "cancer-free."

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April 24, 2026 2:15 p.m. ET

Kathy Griffin at 'Hacks' season 5 premiere. Credit:

Jesse Grant/Variety via Getty

- Kathy Griffin revealed on *The View* that she lied about her cancer returning to get out of awkward car ride with 'anti-gay' driver.

- The comedian said the incident occurred in Minnesota.

- She also said the driver criticized George Floyd when she requested to stop at his memorial.

Comedian Kathy Griffin was in no laughing mood on a recent car ride in Minnesota, during which she said a driver made anti-gay remarks that led to her lying about her cancer returning just to get out of the awkward situation.

The *New Face, New Tour* star appeared Friday on* **The View* to promote her traveling stand-up act, where she reflected on the conflict on the road in Minnesota.

"When I had the driver in Minneapolis, he presented as a nice gentleman of caucasian persuasion. I will admit that the conversations to and from the gig, he'd start to say stuff that made me uncomfortable, maybe an anti-gay thing, [something] racial," she recalled.

Comedian Kathy Griffin in October 2025.

Amanda Edwards/Getty

She said that "we drove past George Floyd's memorial, we stopped there, he just started to talk about how, 'If only people would comply,'" Griffin remembered, adding that she began texting her tour manager, who was also with her, about what to do.

"I just didn't feel right, I've never done anything like this, it's so lame. I just started making up a story to the driver," she said, telling him that she had a cousin named Jill who wanted to drive her to the airport instead.

"This driver knows that he's the driver. My tour manager is helping me, she's like, 'And she's sick!'" Griffin said. "I go, 'And my cancer's back!' Then he finally stops the car, which, my cancer isn't back, I just played that card."

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Once she unloaded all of her things, the driver asked Griffin where Jill's house was, and both she and her tour manager "pointed to different houses" by mistake, before calling an Uber to take her to the airport instead.

"Sometimes you have to speak up. It was very awkward. I felt, enough with the weird comments," Griffin finished.

Kathy Griffin in January 2026.

Frazer Harrison/Getty

Griffin previously underwent surgery to remove part of her lung amid a battle with cancer, and later announced in 2021 that she had beaten the disease.

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"I'm cancer free!" she said on *Jimmy Kimmel Live *that year, adding that her voice is now a cross between "Minnie Mouse meets Marilyn Monroe" due to the cancer's impact on her body.

Griffin is on the road with *New Face, New Tour* through mid-May, with a second round of dates set for the fall.

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