Los Angeles: US comedian Kathy Griffin tearfully accused Donald Trump and his family Friday of trying to ruin her life, revealing she had faced death threats from supporters of the president over a prop depicting his bloodied, severed head.

The embattled comedian, who lost her job at CNN co-hosting a New Year’s Eve programme and had several comedy shows cancelled, said she feared the stunt could spell the end of her career.

‘A sitting president of the United States and his grown children and the first lady are personally trying to ruin my life forever,’ she told reporters at a rambling news conference in Los Angeles with her attorney. ‘You guys know him, he’s not going to stop.’

‘I don’t think I’ll have a career after this. I’m going to be honest, he broke me,’ she cried.

The 56-year-old has publicly apologised over the gruesome photo which drew outrage from Trump and his family, as well as across the political spectrum.

Griffin reiterated on Friday that she had made ‘a horrible mistake,’ saying the bloodied head image was meant as a retort to comments aimed by Trump at the US journalist Megyn Kelly during the election campaign.

Trump had described Kelly after she moderated a presidential debate as having ‘blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of wherever.’

A distraught Griffin said while her humour may not be palatable to everyone, she did not deserve the vicious online onslaught she has been facing.

‘The death threats that I am getting are constant and they are detailed, and they are serious and they are specific,’ she said.