Kathy Griffin Claims CNN Cut Her Salary 30 Percent When She Asked for a Raise

More than a year since Kathy Griffin was let go from co-hosting CNN's annual New Year's Eve live [...]

More than a year since Kathy Griffin was let go from co-hosting CNN's annual New Year's Eve live event, the comedian is opening up about her 10 years on the job.

Griffin has found herself in the opposite side of many battles with the network and her former co-host Anderson Cooper since she was fired after she posted a photo of herself on social media holding what looked like President Donald Trump's decapitated head in May 2017.

The comedian took to Twitter just as Andy Cohen and Cooper hosted 2018's live telecast with details about her time as co-host, including a claim that she suffered a pay cut after allegedly asking CNN president Jeff Zucker for a raise.

"I worked my way up by the 10th year at CNN to get a fee of $150,000. By the way, just as a point of reference, Anderson Cooper regularly bragged for years that his annual CNN contract was $10 million a year," she wrote as part of a lengthy Twitter thread.

"The first two years I appeared on CNN, it didn't even occur to me to ask for a salary. The 8th year when I asked Jeff Zucker for a raise, he was so angry he docked me 30%," she wrote. "I'm sorry to say I took the pay cut because I truly enjoyed making you all laugh."

The thread also included an allegation from Griffin that Leslie Jones had been considered to host alongside Cooper, but the actress ended up working on NBC's broadcast.

In the messages, Griffin also praised Jones and said she would have loved to see her on the telecast, and taking home a good paycheck for it, as first reported by PEOPLE.

"I) I'm thrilled she is going to appear in the NBC New Years telecast with Carson Daly/Chrissy Teigen, but it's time for Leslie to co-host/host. That would be progress... it would have been a step in the right direction for all women if she got the CNN gig," Griffin wrote.

She added: "K) I didn't hear anything about what Leslie's fee will be on NBC, but I really hope it is AT LEAST $150,000 because that is a nice paycheck and it's what she deserves."

Griffin concluded the Twitter comments on a positive tone.

"I love you all and am so grateful for the love and support you have given me," she wrote in a tweet. "Happy New Year to all of you! I may not be able to have a drink with you, but I have served up a pot of piping hot tea."

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