Kathy Griffin Calls Out Double Standards After Viral Dating Hoax

The image, which featured Griffin in a sleek black gown with the young man assisting her into an SUV, was captioned “He’s 22. Have at it, internet.” The response was immediate and polarized: while Instagram users largely offered support, those on Threads leveled accusations of impropriety and slut-shaming. Griffin revealed the man was simply a member of her security detail during a trip to New York City.

Griffin leveraged the backlash to highlight industry hypocrisy, noting the stark contrast in how society treats older men in relationships with younger women. She cited Luke Wilson, 54, and his 24-year-old partner as an example of the industry’s ingrained ageism and sexism. Though she dismissed the stunt as “harmless fun,” the comedian is no stranger to age-gap dynamics; she previously admitted to falling for a 23-year-old, noting that younger men often lacked the rigid biases she encountered in suitors her own age.