Squatty Potty has cut ties with comedian Kathy Griffin after she participated in a photo shoot that featured her holding up a bloody head resembling President Donald Trump.
The family-run company, which had recently enlisted Griffin to star in a new ad campaign for the company, announced it was suspending the ad following the release of the controversial image.
"We were shocked and disappointed to learn about the image Ms. Griffin shared today, it was deeply inappropriate and runs contrary to the core values our company stands for," CEO Bobby Edwards said in a statement made available to The Gospel Herald.
"In response, Squatty Potty has suspended its ad campaign featuring Ms. Griffin. We have acted swiftly and decisively to demonstrate our commitment to a culture of decency, civility, and tolerance."
Edwards was not the only one to condemn the image; Trump himself took to Twitter to say the comedian should be "ashamed of herself."
"My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!" he tweeted.
His son, Donald Trump Jr., also took to social media to suggest that Obama would not have been treated in the same manner: "Disgusting but not surprising. This is the left today. They consider this acceptable. Imagine a conservative did this to Obama as POTUS?" he tweeted.
"As a mother, a wife, and a human being, that photo is very disturbing," Melania Trump said in a statement. "When you consider some of the atrocities happening in the world today, a photo opportunity like this is simply wrong and makes you wonder about the mental health of the person who did it."
On Facebook, evangelist Franklin Graham also condemned the image: "I work with Christians whose family members have been decapitated. This woman is sick and disgusting. May God bless our President, Donald J. Trump, and his family and protect them from all evil."
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper said he was "appalled" by the photo shoot: "It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate," he wrote.
In a post on Tuesday, Griffin issued an apology for the image: "I'm a comic," she said. "I cross the line. I move the line, then I cross it. I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people. It wasn't funny. I get it."
She said she is asking celebrity photographer Tyler Shields to take down the photo: "I beg for your forgiveness. I went too far. I made a mistake and I was wrong."
However, Griffin earlier acknowledged the image would spark controversy: In a behind-the-scenes video posted by Shields, Griffin asserted to the camera that she and Shields were "not afraid to do images that make noise."
In the same video, Griffin and Shields are shown presumably reviewing footage from their session, and Griffin jokes: "We have to move to Mexico today, but we're going to go to prison -- federal prison...We're not surviving this, okay?"
On Wednesday, CNN also expressed disapproval of Griffin's gory photo and said she will no longer to continue to participate in the network's annual New Year's Eve coverage.
"CNN has terminated our agreement with Kathy Griffin to appear on our New Year's Eve," the network tweeted.
