Kathy Griffin has unveiled the grovelling letter she was asked to send to President Donald Trump in the wake of the notorious severed head controversy.

In May, a stunt by the stand-up comic backfired when a video of her holding a fake bloodied, severed head went viral. The gag was swiftly condemned by progressives and conservatives alike, with Griffin subsequently deleting the video and apologising for making a joke about killing the president.

Now, the comedian has revealed a board member for TV network CBS tried to pressure her into sending a grovelling letter to the President while the controversy was unfolding. The email, published on Griffin's Facebook page, is littered with capital letters and spelling errors.

"You have to get to Trump who has been known to be compassionate," the email reads. "You have one chance left if you send the following letter (not an email) to the President. Don't change a word of it. (Go to Google for "how to address the President" and where to send it, etc."