Kathy Griffinis making rare comments about her late older brotherKenneth, in the wake of the deaths ofRobandMichele Reiner.
The longtime comedian, who had met Rob on several occasions before his passing, compared the tragic situation to how her parents also had to deal with a child that struggled with their mental health. In a segment for herTalk Your Head OffYouTube series, Griffin opened up about her brother's battle with addiction, mental health and his violent personality.
"I'm going to open up to you about something now that I haven't really talked about since my first book [Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin], and when I talked about it, the rest of myfamilywas very, very upset with me," sheshared in the personal video.
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Griffin went on to allege that her brother was a drug addict and "probably had an undiagnosed mental illness that obviously did not go well with crack cocaine." She added that at times, he lived "on the streets" and was "extremely violent" with his partners.
"I can just tell you it was heartbreaking watching my parents,JohnandMaggie, try to save him his wholelife," Griffin said.
Griffin recalled knowing Kenneth was troubled from the time she was a little girl, revealing that when she was just 10-years-old, Kenneth's first wife confided in her about facing physical abuse. She says her sister-in-law told her that Kenneth "beat her so badly that it was almost inconceivable" and left her outside without clothing in freezing weather.
Years later, after getting divorced, one of Kenneth's longtime girlfriends told Kathy that Kenneth was also violent towards her and allegedly molested two young children who lived in the apartment building he managed.
While she attempted to get law enforcement involved, Kenneth denied any wrongdoing and authorities told Griffin there was nothing they could do unless victims came forward themselves. Griffin admitted she never told her family that she had attempted to get Kenneth arrested.
"You don't get over it. I wanted to kill him because all I could think about were those children. And the expression 'blood is thicker than water,' was not true in my case. I didn't give a f--- that he was my older brother. And I did not want to protect him," Griffin said.
For years, her parents attempted to help Kenneth and even confronted him about Griffin's accusations, which he neither confirmed nor denied. Griffin chose to distance herself from the family as long as Kenneth was around.
Ultimately, Kenneth was never charged for the crimes Griffin accused him of, although he did serve time in prison. He later became homeless and later died in 2001.
You can hear all that Kathy Griffin had to say below.
This story was originally published byParadeon Dec 30, 2025, where it first appeared in theNewssection. Add Parade as aPreferred Source by clicking here.
