Did Kathy Griffin's Trump 'Decapitation' Stunt Go Too Far?

June 2, 2017: Jon shares his thoughts on the Kathy Griffin / Donald Trump 'decapitation' scandal, some memories and photos from his recent destination-wedding trip to Aruba, why a flagrant video thief has his pissed off, and why Viva La Dirt League's "Epic NPC Man" is his favorite video of the week.
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~~ Five Minute Fridays ~~
Quickly recorded in a five-minute take, Jon hosts a condensed desk-vlog that covers topics from his personal life, interesting news, and what pissed him off recently. Cool videos, a quick Q-and-A, and an interactive card game are also included. New episodes weekly.
Born in February 1986, Jonathan Paula is a professional KZbinr and co-creator of "Is It A Good Idea To Microwave This?". In April 2006 he founded Jogwheel Productions, a new media production company that specializes in web video. Jon graduated from Emerson College in 2008 with a degree in Television Production / Radio Broadcasting. He currently lives in Rockingham, NH with his wife Rebecca.
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[@MajoraZ]

Something to consider about the channel reuploading your content and how it's sort of annoying to file claims per video: It may be inconvenient for you, but it's a good thing because it places a barrier of effort on people who would abuse the system by filing takedowns on content they just want taken down or that would fall under fair use

[@ScottSullivanTV]

My English teacher put a question on the final that said, "Give an example of an oxymoron." I knew she was a liberal so I wrote "President Trump".

[@cbremer83]

I got married in Aruba as well. On the beach at the Manchebo resort.

[@Jon]

Nice :)

[@SY6Dave]

Hey Jon, I'm planning a road trip around the New England area soon. Will probably only have 1 week to do it in. Any recommendations for must-visit locations?

[@Jon]

You can skip Connecticut entirely. Freedom Trail in Boston. Beaches on Cape Cod (or a Whale Watch tour) Acadia National Park in Maine. Lake Winnipesaukee / White Mountains in NH. The Mansions of Newport, RI. ... and if you have time, Burlington, VT and the Ben & Jerry's factory. Should definitely be doable in a week, with only a few hours driving a day. Good luck!

[@SY6Dave]

Thanks for the great suggestions. That's given us a lot to think about! :-)

[@Jon]

Were none of these not already on your list?

[@SY6Dave]

Got as far as thinking about flying into Boston but haven't devised a route yet - it's still about 12 months away and got a couple of trips to take before then! Just like to get ahead of the game, haha - Once one trip is planned it's not long before I start thinking about the next, and the next. The White Mountains look amazing!

[@FlamingSamuraiBry]

You're not the only one who's dealing with a channel taking a channels entire selection of videos and re-uploading them. several channels have re-uploaded the contents of one of my favorite channels, they are all clearly bot channels as well.

[@royslapped4463]

We haven't heard from her since!

[@Jon]

From me?

[@JackitK]

Glad I decided to watch this one, despite some hesitation. Those points made total sense​ and I end up agreeing with a lot of those. I'll have to check out those game skits, it really does seem like something I would like.

[@SamSitar]

i am in the middle. the video thief should make their own videos.

[@kingdomhearts25.08]

Remember when you could watch a video without having to sit through commercial? Remember when music videos Were uploaded by users not VEVO Remember when all the info was to the right of the video? Remember you could rate a video 1-5 stars? Remember the famous yellow subscribe button? Remember when the users controlled the site not corporations? WE MISS THE OLD KZbin! Thumbs up, and let's start a KZbin revolution!

[@Jon]

Some of those are objectively, not actually better than what we have today. ESPECIALLY the thing about 'commercials' - which make my entire career possible. So no, I don't miss the 'old KZbin' - and you shouldn't either.

[@AnthonyGuidetti]

I thought you had Content ID enabled to take down channels like that? Also, did you receive my email I sent to your Patreon email, or would you prefer not to discuss the topic?

[@Jon]

+Anthony Guidetti Hmm... I thought I had the patron email forwarding to my regular address, but I'll have to double check. And Content ID tagged his uploads, but I still have to manually review and issue takedown notices.

[@AnthonyGuidetti]

Jon - It's very possible I spelt patreon wrong as well, haha

[@evancygnor8367]

You and I agree on a scary amount to be completely honest. We literally share the exact same opinion on this whole Donald Trump thing. Just interesting to see that since not a lot of people I know share my views!

[@exclamation744]

and also on tape he said "they let you do it." But ignore that. Doesn't fit CNN's narrative. Beyond that, good 5 min Fridays as usual, even if we disagree on our politics.

[@iButthurtAll]

I'm gonna go punch someone in the face for absolutely no reason and then sue them for hurting my hand when everyone tells me I did wrong....There's your LEFT side intelligence at it's best right there folks!!

[@rizrz34]

Gonna go ahead and save everyone 5 mins and not watch the video myself and say that Jon thinks it didn't go far enough. =)

[@Jon]

Incorrect! Haha.

[@mattmopar440]

she went to far even my hatred of Trump you should never threatened the President of the United State. Mock and point out his stupidity at every opportunity is fine

[@AdamDoesMovies]

I was far more insulted by the fact that there was zero punchline at all. Clearly just another sad attempt for her to get into the spotlight. Trump is the worst but this stupid stunt was way out of line. I expect nothing less from Kathy Griffin though, and that in no way shape or form is a compliment. Nice vid Jon.

[@Smashy-rw8kr]

Adam Does Movies what she potrayed herself was being psychotic

[@Jon]

Yay... another hot-button and controversial story involving Donald Trump... let's see how many people I can piss off this week! Hope you enjoy - and thanks for watching!

[@takanuinuva]

You going to go see Captain Underpants?

[@Jon]

No.

[@StickiesOfficial]

Good choice. Someone would have to pay me a *lot* of money to watch that junk.

[@Jon]

I wouldn't call it junk. I'm just not going to see it in theaters.

[@bryannguyen8440]

Jon thanks for the Five Minute Fridays video

[@Clutch28]

Jon...would you say the exact same thing about those that did the Obama lynching "protests" or the Obama burning ones? I'm no fan of Trump either but why are we letting someone get away with one form of mock violence (your whole own it statement) and then openly go after another. It does smack of double standards here.

[@Jon]

> _"It does smack of double standards here."_ Yes, that was my entire point. And who is letting Griffin 'get away' with this? She's being dragged by everyone right now... As for the Obama / Trump comparisons - I've reacted similarly to both. They're disgusting, but they don't offend or bother me. The notable distinction of course is that Kathy did her 'stunt' for political / comedic reasons, whereas Obama's opponents were just plain-old racists.

[@Clutch28]

And rightly so. And she made a mockery of this fact ahead of time and now that consequences are catching up with her, she's "getting her career ruined". Sorry Jon, but owning it is one thing, you don't then start crying about the repercussions of what you did. You don't want those that did the Obama "protests" to comment on this one, that's fair. So why is she allowed to then still do so? Again, double standards here. Her protest failed when it crossed over lines, standing by the protest in that case is really as tone-deaf as how she went about it. She ruined her career with a terrible protest. And yet, we have to give this a pass in some fashion cause why? She's a celebrity of some sort? She's a comedian?

[@Newportal1]

What's worse is that she KNEW. She knew this might be the end of her career when she did this. She explicitly stated while making the stunt to her film crew "We are not going to survive this". I'd say that's good politician material, but after what Trump will do to her, even Hillary will be like "You went too far". This is the rabid left, the rusted on right warned us about.

[@Jon]

+Clutch28 why are you apologizing to me? I agree with you! Haha

[@freedomwv]

I`m not sure she `went too far.` I`ve seen far more graphic protest actions out of America over the years. I struggle to come up with something less graphic that would express the anger a lot of people across the world harbor toward Trump.

[@AiggEbe]

I think it was too far. Sure, she has every right to do it and shouldn't be punished, but it was over the top. I just don't get the outrage over this. I saw the picture, thought "Eh, that's too much" and moved on with my life! Pardon my language but who. Fucking. Cares. There are tons of worse things going on in the world, and some comedian making a distasteful joke definitely isn't one of them.

[@brrguitarist]

Watched you for years and have deep respect for you and your views. Do I agree with you on everything? Nah. But you are 100% right in saying she shouldn't have apologized. Especially with the video showing her acknowledging that "we won't survive this" it takes away from any statement you try to make when you backpedal like that. If she stood by it I'd have a sliver more respect for her, but this is looking pretty bad. Not to mention the new victim stance she's taking, which in itself makes the whole apology pointless. It was disgusting, as is all the awful presidential faux killings I've seen over the years. It's childish. Am I offended? No. But I recognize how this went too far. Be artistic about it, like the way snoop dogg did it.

[@Jon]

+Kyle Young Hundred percent, this. When her shit comedy backfired, she tried to have it both ways. Nope, sorry.

[@mikenoble91]

I totally agree with you about the Kathy Griffin thing. It feels like the same people who are upset about this are the same people who call everyone "triggered snowflakes" and constantly complain that everyone else is too offended. The best thing Griffin could have done is said "I thought we weren't triggered snowflakes" and then said absolutely nothing else about this entire ordeal. No apology, no comments, nothing else.

[@Jon]

+Mike bingo.

[@jeannemshultz9136]

This is such a ridiculous over-reaction to what is probably one of her poorer choices. I stand behind her 100%. Let's move on, shall we?

[@toadboy7493]

I love the snowflake in the thumbnail btw

[@Jon]

+vladroxyoursox I'm glad someone noticed that :-)

[@lynn092696]

I think it's hilarious

[@lhw.iAviation]

I hate people who apologise after their stunt offended people... Sorry, I have better and more productive things to do in my life than get offended.

[@ihartevil]

it went to far but her apology was very good so i accept the apology and dont care for this to ever be talked about again unless it comes up with how ted nugent talked about obama and since he never apologized and did it more then once i have to say his is worse but since i see him as a nobody it makes them seem equal thank you for this ha bisky 5 mins friday i really love your take on these things

[@ActuallyTragic]

It's no different to other edgy political garbage I've seen from whatever wing and yeah it goes too far but what separates this from other statements or jokes I've seen? Nothing except Griffin being in the public eye, which I really don't care about.

[@TheCanadianToast]

Because of that, Kathy Griffin got fired by CNN for her job in CNN's new year's event. Wow... Just wow...

[@this0cant0be0the0end]

I have been following you since "is it a good idea to microwave this" and have watched most of your videos. I have valued your opinion despite being conservative. But today I feel you have overlooked such an obvious truth. I and many like me did call out anyone burning the likeness of Obama as wrong. I did not vote for him but would never want him dead. and It is never ok to burn the likeness of a person. Furthermore, this was coming from a person who is a celebrity, not a crazy asshole on the street. You really must try harder to put this into perspective. I mean she is a comedian... who did she think this was going to make laugh? honestly try and think about that for a second. Regardless of who's head that is, its just sick.

[@Jon]

I'm confused Mark... because we seem to agree with each other here? What Kathy did went too far, and was wrong - I said that very plainly. And while YOU may condemned the attacks and racism against Obama, the fact of the matter is - your party just elected a man President who led the racist birther movement against him for years. You don't get to cry wolf anymore, sorry.

[@DaNeighborhoodie]

Jon, you hit the nail on the head with the Kathy Griffin story and the hypocrisy surrounding it.

[@Liboo52]

I don't think Kathy Griffin went to far. Now, if she had taken the head and microwaved it, that would not have been a good idea.

[@gmcnewlook]

😂