Comedian Kathy Griffin, under fire for posing with a fake bloodied and severed head depicting US President Donald Trump, reiterated her apology but added that she believes the Trump family is trying to ruin her and her career.

Griffin lost sponsorships and jobs, including her role as co-host of CNN's New Year's Eve coverage with journalist Anderson Cooper, after a photograph and video from the shoot appeared on social media on Tuesday.

Griffin has teamed up with civil rights lawyer Lisa Bloom in the wake of the controversy, which immediately drew calls from Trump's eldest son for employers to drop the Grammy Award-winning comedian.

Griffin apologized in a video posted to Twitter hours after celebrity news website TMZ published a picture from the shoot with photographer Tyler Shields and an accompanying video.

Trump said the image of Griffin with the gory mask resembling him was "sick" and had traumatized his family, especially his youngest son, 11-year-old Barron.

The US Secret Service, which is responsible for presidential security, has opened an inquiry into the posting of Griffin posing with the severed-head replica.

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