Kathy Griffin apologizes after holding fake, bloody Trump head in controversial photo shoot

Kathy Griffin is out with a new piece of shock performance art.

The stand-up comedian was photographed holding a depiction of President Donald Trump's bloodied head in one still of a controversial new photo shoot.

The image, published Tuesday by TMZ, is from a new project by controversial photographer Tyler Shields, who routinely shoots A-list celebrities in shocking poses, including Lindsay Lohan, Hayden Panettiere, Emma Roberts, Demi Lovato and many more for his 2013 book The Dirty Side of Glamour.

Griffin has been outspoken in her condemnation of Trump throughout the campaign. Griffin was seen raising her middle finger at former Fox News host Megyn Kelly when she made hopeful remarks about Trump at The Hollywood Reporter's annual Women in Entertainment event in December. She also told the president to "f— off" in a spoof of one of Hillary Clinton's anti-bullying ads.

The picture quickly drew outrage on Twitter, with Donald Trump Jr. being one critic. "Disgusting but not surprising," he tweeted. "This is the left today. They consider this acceptable. Imagine a conservative did this to Obama as POTUS?"

Debra Messing, an avid Hillary Clinton supporter during the campaign, also took issue with Griffin's photo shoot, tweeting, "It wasn't right when peoplel [sic] hung lynched Obama effigies, just as what Kathy Griffin did isn't right now."

Chelsea Clinton also took offense to the photos, tweeting, "This is vile and wrong. It is never funny to joke about killing a president."

At first, Griffin was quick to defend the images. The actress shared the photo on her own social media account, praising Shields and suggesting the caption read, "There was blood coming out of his eyes, blood coming out of his...wherever." Griffin said she obviously does not "condone ANY violence by my fans or others to anyone" and is "merely mocking the Mocker in Chief."

However, following the intense backlash, Griffin later apologized for the images. "I sincerely apologize," she said in a video on Twitter. "I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people, it wasn't funny I get it."

She added, begging for everyone's forgiveness, that she will ask the photographer to take down the image.

This is not the first time one of Shields' shoots has caused an uproar. In 2011, Glee actress Heather Morris was featured in a shoot with a black eye and bruises, which drew controversy for what some considered to be a glamorization of domestic violence.

Read more: Kathy Griffin Spoofs Hillary Clinton's Bullying Video, Tells Donald Trump to "F— Off"