Our Ask Billy question comes from Tony in Las Vegas: “I read you were at Kathy Griffin’s show last week.  I was also there and had a question.  She mentioned being out of work for eight years after the Trump head photo, but I was sure I saw her at Carnegie Hall shortly after that.  Am I right?”

First, let me say something that has nothing to do with Tony’s question – could someone please turn off the AC during shows in Las Vegas?  I went from the balmy Vegas Strip to the arctic Criss Angel Theater.  If anyone saw me with my arms crossed, I wasn’t being judgmental – I was suffering from hypothermia!  That said, the Trump head photo was posted on May 30, 2017.  And once that photo went viral, it is true – her tour gigs were canceled.  However, Tony is also right – Kathy did indeed perform to a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall on June 26, 2018 – about a year later.  That was historic for another reason.  The night before, Griffin played to a sold-out crowd at Radio City Music Hall.  Selling out two legendary venues on consecutive nights in NYC is something not many can boast.  So how does that explain Griffin’s claims of “no paid work” for 8 years?  There is a potential loophole.  Very often, performers rent out a venue themselves and sell the tickets.  So, these may not have technically been “paid gigs”, although she certainly made money on them.  These New York dates followed the international portion of her Laugh Your Head Off tour, which took place in October and November of 2017 – roughly 5 months after the photo.  She did shows in Singapore, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Iceland, the UK and Ireland.  After that, the tour moved to North America by way of Ottawa, Ontario on May 23, 2018.  Then there were the aforementioned NYC dates, followed by Los Angeles, Chicago, Skokie, Miami, San Diego and St. Louis.  This was all covered in her film, Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story, which is a terrific documentary and can be seen on YouTube.com.

­When I’m telling tales about two comics, it’s time to end yet another column.  By the by, Kathy Griffin is still on tour (dates can be found on KathyGriffin.com).  In fact, she’ll be in Boston at The Wilbur on October 3^rd.  And since I know someone out there is wondering, Carrot Top has never said he is gay.  While none of us want to claim that face as our own, his body certainly deserves some attention.  That attention may be coming from a woman named Amanda Hogan, who has been romantically linked with him since 2009.  For more about this and other non-vegetable-related subjects, check out BillyMasters.com – the site that always delivers the meat.  If you need me to do some deep digging into a story, drop a note to Billy@BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to you before I put on a mask and go to a lesbian bar!  Until next time, remember, one man’s filth is another man’s bible.