Kathy Griffin appears to have debuted her new romance with a significantly younger man.
On Thursday, the comedian, 65, shared a picture on Instagram of her holding hands with an unnamed man while walking in New York City’s Midtown. Griffin is dressed in a black mermaid dress, while the man is wearing a black collared t-shirt and black slacks.
“He’s 22. Have at it, internet,” she wrote in the caption, alongside a fire and comet emoji.
The Independent has contacted Griffin’s representative for comment.
The comment section was flooded with supportive messages from followers, many of whom pointed out that if it were a 22-year-old woman with a 65-year-old man, “it wouldn’t get mentioned cuz it happens every two seconds.”
“Rock on Kathy,” one wrote, while a second quipped: “Women in male fields.”
“Madonna did it, why can’t you,” a third reasoned, referencing the “Like a Prayer” pop star’s relationship with Jamaican soccer player and coach Akeem Morris, who is 38 years her junior.
“If he is opening the car door for you, keep him. More class at 22 than most men!” another applauded.
“I AM DYING AT THESE COMMENTS,” Griffin chimed in later.
Griffin is no stranger to age-gap relationships. She previously shared an 18-year age difference with her second husband, Randy Bick, whom she was married to from 2020 to 2025.
Months after their “painful” divorce, she wrote an op-ed for The Cut revealing she had fallen in love with a “man half my age.”
“I accidentally fell in love with a 23-year-old,” she confessed. “Because of his age, he didn’t have the usual sexism, misogyny, and biases that guys my age tend to have. He seemed to see me.”
Acknowledging that “it never could’ve lasted, and we both knew that,” Griffin added, “But it was nice to know that my heart could still feel like that in my 60s, and it was nice to have the universe show me a guy that I really got a kick out of but also respected.
“So even though there was a big age difference, I’m glad that we were able to capture it for a little while,” she continued. “I knew he was too young when he told me he never wanted to have kids and that he could be with me forever. And I was like, ‘You don’t know that. You’re 23. You have no idea.’ I just wouldn’t do that to him. I mean, when I was 23, I thought I knew a lot of s***, but I didn’t. So I had to set that dove free.”
Addressing the “cougar allegations,” she noted she had not been with a “guy my age since I was in my 30s.”
“I don’t know what it is, but my ex-husband was 18 years younger than me. Pretty much since then, I’ve only been asked out by younger guys. So I’m constantly called a cougar,” Griffin said, “but I don’t mind.”