Kathy Griffin Shares She Was Hospitalized Over Complications From Colonoscopy

Entertainment Weekly ^ | May 22, 2026 | Brahmjot Kaur

[nickcarraway]

Kathy Griffin shared a glimpse into her health with an update while recovering from a medical procedure.

Kathy Griffin is on the mend.

The comedian gave a "TMI" update on her life, sharing that she was hospitalized after undergoing a medical procedure.

"I spent the night in the hospital because I had complications from my colonoscopy," Kathy shared in her May 21 Instagram post. "I know, I know, very sexy but I am home now with the doggies where I belong."

Alongside the screenshot from her Notes app, the 65-year-old also shared a selfie in good spirits. She captioned the post, "A not so tech savvy update."

The Suddenly Susan alum hasn't shied away from discussing her health concerns publicly, including her 2021 lung cancer diagnosis.

"I'm about to go into surgery to have half of my left lung removed," she wrote on Instagram that August. "I have lung cancer even though I've never smoked! The doctors are very optimistic as it is stage 1 and contained in my left lung. Hopefully, no chemo or radiation after this and I should have normal function with my breathing."

She concluded her post, urging her fans to "stay up to date on your medical checkups" because "it'll save your life."

Although Kathy took the diagnosis in stride, it was still one she struggled to fully accept.

"Whether I like it or not, I think I'm a resilient survivor," she said on ABC News' Nightline at the time, "I was definitely in shock. I'm still a little bit in shock—not denial, but once a day I'll just turn to like, nobody next to me and go, 'Can you believe this s--t? Is this a b--ch or what?'"

But she was also looking at the silver lining, adding, "It's stage 1. It's nowhere else in my body. So I need to focus on that."

Luckily, three months later, Kathy shared a positive update on her journey.

"I'm cancer-free," she announced on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. "I don't know why I had a tumor. I've never smoked, and it was in there for 10 years."

For a closer look at more celebs who've detailed health scares, keep reading.

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TOPICS: TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: colonoscopy; kathygriffin; ohnoanyway; tdsqueen

[TigersEye]

They mistook her face for her azz and it went downhill from there.

She wanted to sue but her lawyer advised that a jury would see it as an honest mistake.

[ConservaTexan]

My guess is the camera got hung up on her chin.

[Mi-kha-el]

Wouldn’t make much difference.

[bigbob]

I suspect the reason she had trouble with the colonoscopy was due to her head being in the way

[Angelino97]

She's had lousy luck with medical procedures.

She reported many years ago that she had LASIK surgery, which left her with poor vision.

[fidelis]

I had one , my first , last November here in Japan , done by a female doctor . . They found several polyps , one pre-cancerous , all removed . Did experience constipation for months after but now OK . Have another scheduled for September . Not looking forward to it , obviously .

I had one last year preparatory to having surgery to have the cancer in my lower colon removed (nothing else was found in my colon at that time). The worst part is not the procedure (you're completely knocked out during it) but the several days of prep at home before that.

[Keyser Soze 84]

Cologuard Doesn’t show polyps and that hides cancer

[nickcarraway]

Was that considered malpractice. I had a more distant cousin that didn’t die, but did have a bad result.

[nickcarraway]

Well, for one thing Cologuard is contraindicated for people with higher risk for colon cancer. (For example, close relatives who had it.)

And a colonoscopy gives more information. If you have a polyp, they have to remove it anyway.

[nickcarraway]

They scheduled a second one less than a year after the last one?

[Keyser Soze 84]

I know this. It is why I wrote that.

[citizen]

ugh and I have one coming up soon.

[nickcarraway]

I know, I copied you on the reply.

[Pelham]

I have a friend who caught C.diff from an improperly cleaned colonoscope. That sidelined her for about a month. She was 40 and fit but C.diff is bad news. That stuff can kill you.

Another friend had some intestine die a week after having a polyp removed. The docs had been “curious” about the polyp. It sounds like they somehow managed to choke off a blood supply, although I never heard exactly what happened. The polyp wasn’t cancerous. This has left him with chronic IBS.

These were both at highly ranked SoCal hospitals in the OC.

I told my doc that I’ll just roll with the Cologuard option, thank you very much. It may not be 100% effective at spotting cancer, but it is 100% incapable of infecting me with C.diff, and it 100% can never ever mistakenly kill off a few feet of my intestines. He admitted that this is in fact true.

[neverevergiveup]

The older we get the fewer the years left in our lives.

Yes, and life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer to the end you get the faster it goes.

[BFW]

That’s a cover story and a lie the hospital visit was to remove her head from her buttocks ...

She been seeing the world through her belly button for years.

[Keyser Soze 84]

👍

[wardaddy]

lol
That’s about best I could come up with too

I mean no woman wants to be that homely

Even fairly plain gals can usually unless fat doll up to 5-7 truly

Kathy Griffin

Not happening

ps plain average folks used to marry and be happy

Now every woman online thinks she’s a ten and waits for Brad pitts who just use them

And least that’s how it’s explained to me

Online dating slash hook up culture

[Veto!]

............”I suspect the reason she had trouble with the colonoscopy was due tor .............her .head being in the way”

Yoou’re right and now I’ll go to bed laughing.

[Bullish]

You belong with the dogs alright, Kathy.