Khloé Kardashian, Zachary Levi blast California leadership over Los Angeles fires
Powerful fires are continuing to ravage some of the nation's most recognizable neighborhoods in Southern California.
As firefighters worked to quell the fast-moving flames from wildfires in the Los Angeles and Ventura County areas, many celebrities took to social media to express gratitude for the crews battling the unrelenting blazes, while a few used the moment to share discontent over the state's leadership and handling of the crisis.
"Shazam!" star Zachary Levi appeared on Fox News on Jan. 8 to voice frustration with California politicians for their handling of the multiple wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area, as well as others that have affected the state in the past.
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"This is just incredible mismanagement, incredibly poor leadership; I would go so far as to say that it's criminally negligent," said Levi, who spoke to Fox from Austin, Texas. The actor has previously described himself as a Libertarian and backed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign before throwing his support behind President-elect Donald Trump.
From the San Gabriel Mountains to the Hollywood Hills and west to the Malibu coastline, flames engulfed the lower half of the state, propelled by relentless Santa Ana gusts.
Four fires were active as of Sunday, though the most devastating remains the Pacific Palisades blaze, which is 11% contained. The regions consumed by these fires happen to be home to many A-listers who live and work in the nation's entertainment capital.
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Khloé Kardashian slams LA Mayor Karen Bass as 'a joke'
In an Instagram story on Friday, Khloé Kardashian shared an interview with Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, who told Fox 11 that the fire department is not "properly funded" and that budget cuts did impact "our ability to provide service."
In her Instagram story, Kardashian expressed support for Crowley, arguing that she "spoke the truth," according to screenshots shared by Fox News and Page Six.
The "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star added, "Mayor Bass you are a joke!!!!"
Several days later, "Community" star Yvette Nicole Brown took to Instagram to call out Kardashian for her comment. Brown shared a screenshot of an August 2022 Rolling Stone article, which used data obtained by the Los Angeles Times to report that Kardashian had been among residents issued "notices of exceedance" for surpassing their water budget — by 101,000 gallons, in Kardashian's case.
"This is from 2022 when Los Angeles was in the midst of a drought. Every citizen was asked to conserve for the good of everyone else. Y'know because of fires? This is how some citizens responded to the ask," Brown captioned the image. "Is THIS a joke @khloekardashian?"
The following day, Kardashian took to her Instagram Story to shine a light on the "outpouring of humanity" she's seen since the fires broke out. "Amid the devastation caused by the fires, it has been heartwarming to see that in the face of unimaginable loss, people are coming together and supporting one another with unwavering kindness and empathy. I've never seen so much love emanating from our city," she wrote, in part.
James Woods blasts California leadership amid fires
Actor James Woods took to X the night of Jan. 8 to express his dissatisfaction with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, posting a screenshot of a story published by the New York Post that claimed Bass slashed fire department funding by millions before the blaze.
"The most important task ahead is not to be bitter, but …" he wrote. In a later post, he called both Bass and Gavin Newsom "liberal idiots." Newsom, a Democrat, is the governor of California.
"One doesn't understand the first thing about fire management and the other can't fill the water reservoirs," he wrote of the pair.
A Jan. 8 report by Politico with the headline "Wildfire response threatens to end Karen Bass’ extended honeymoon" called claims of funding cuts "wrong."
"The city was in the process of negotiating a new contract with the fire department at the time the budget was being crafted, so additional funding for the department was set aside in a separate fund until that deal was finalized in November," Politico reported. "In fact, the city's fire budget increased more than $50 million year-over-year compared to the last budget cycle," although "concerns about the department's staffing level have persisted for a number of years."
Budget summaries for the city show the fire department's allotment did decrease by 2%, from around $837 million in 2023 and 2024 to $819.5 million in 2024 and 2025. However, a pie chart of total spending indicates the fire department's share in the overall budget remained around 15%.
USA TODAY has reached out to Bass' office for comment.
LA officials respond to claims about fire department budget cuts
CBS News reported, "The city council in November approved a four-year $203 million contract with the firefighter's union to help boost wages and health benefits for staff, drawing from the budget's general fund."
A spokesperson for LA City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield told ABC News that November's updated budget reflected a $53 million increase year-over-year.
However, multiple outlets have noted that LA Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley wrote a Dec. 4 memo to the Board of Fire Commissioners that revealed a "critical need for resource restoration" amid cuts to civilian positions and overtime staffing.
In a Jan. 9 press conference, Bass denied the budget cuts had an impact on LAFD's response. "There were no reductions that would have impacted the situation we were dealing with over the last couple of days," she said, according to CNN.
Sara Foster says Democratic politicians 'have ruined our state,' while Beyoncé's mom defends LA mayor
Actress and producer Sara Foster echoed Woods' sentiment in an X post of her own, writing Jan. 8: "We pay the highest taxes in California. Our fire hydrants were empty. Our vegetation was overgrown, brush not cleared."
Foster demanded both Bass and Newsom resign, writing, "Your far left policies have ruined our state. And also our party."
Tina Knowles, mother to music icon Beyoncé, defended Bass on Instagram Thursday, reposting a Reel from creator @reeciecolbert that argued conservative media's blaming of Bass was racial and that the fire's magnitude was a direct result of climate change.
"This mayor has always worked diligently for the betterment of Los Angeles and all communities. Another opportunity to attack a black woman in power," Knowles wrote alongside the post. "Don't believe the hype!"
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Mel Gibson blames Gavin Newsom for fires: 'He didn't do anything'
Speaking in an episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience" that released Jan. 9, Mel Gibson said a video sent by his son showed his neighborhood "in flames."
"In 2019, I think, Newsom said, 'I’m going to take care of the forests and maintain the forests and do all that kind of stuff’ ? he didn’t do anything," Gibson said. "I think all our tax dollars probably went to Gavin’s hair gel. It's sad; the place is just on fire."
On Ja. 8, Newsom's office released a press release detailing measures "the state has taken to protect Californians from wildfires," which included reportedly doubling prescribed fires between 2021 and 2023.
Rogan, who supported Trump's presidential bid, said Democrat Newsom "ruined the state, personally ruined it."
Zachary Levi criticizes Gavin Newsom's handling of water in California
As for the water reservoirs, the tanks in Pacific Palisades were indeed without water midway through the blaze, but the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power denied claims that they were below capacity.
In a Jan. 8 news conference, departmental officials said the tanks were full at around 1 million gallons each at the start of the blaze, but those supplies ran out by that morning.
"We had a tremendous demand on our system … we pushed the system to the extreme," said Janisse Qui?ones, CEO of the LA Department of Water and Power. "If there's a message to take away from me today, it's 'I need our customers to really conserve water.' "
California has suffered a drought for many years, with officials often urging residents to swap grass lawns for drought-friendly plants and limit shower time.
"He clearly knows that the biggest problem that we suffer in California are these fires and, by the way, the mudslides that follow," Levi said, taking aim at Newsom and accusing the governor of doing "not just nothing, but worse than nothing."
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Levi seemed to allege that Newsom's negligence might be intentional. He also blasted the leadership for allowing many homes in California to be denied fire insurance.
"They must be held responsible," he told host Jesse Watters. "This is not good leadership."
Insurers are private, meaning the government has only so much control over their policies. At the end of 2024, though, the state's insurance commissioner enacted a measure aimed at expanding insurance coverage in wildfire-afflicted areas after many companies scaled back after other devastating blazes.
Allstate, which had suspended all new policies in the state in 2022, signaled interest in returning to the state after the changes, The New York Times reports.
In 2024, State Farm, the largest insurer in the state, cut policies in the Santa Monica Mountains, resulting in 70% of customers in Pacific Palisades – about 1,600 homeowners – losing coverage, the Times reports.
The California FAIR plan, a state-run alternative used by many abandoned by larger insurers, has filled the gap in some particularly fire-prone neighborhoods.
Dean Cain thinks LA fires could make California a purple state
In an interview with Fox News, "Lois & Clark" star Dean Cain blasted what he characterized as a "perfect storm of mismanagement and a failure of leadership."
Cain also theorized the devastation might affect the way people in Hollywood vote.
"I think this is going to turn a very, very blue state, much more red," he said.
"I'm hoping California becomes purple and I'm hoping that ? listen, my heart goes out to those who have lost everything. And I know they're going to go through years and years of red tape, nightmare, memories gone. It's going to be one of those catastrophic events in their lives. And I hope that this will wake up people so they'll start voting for policies that make sense, common sense, and they'll prepare for this sort of thing in the future."
Kim Kardashian urges California to raise incarcerated firefighters' pay
Kim Kardashian, meanwhile, called for incarcerated firefighters to receive higher wages in an Instagram Story.
The Skims founder noted that "there are hundreds of incarcerated firefighters, risking their lives to save us" by assisting in the wildfire response but that they are paid "almost nothing."
More than 900 incarcerated firefighters have been assisting the response efforts in the state and are working "around the clock cutting fire lines and removing fuel from behind structures to slow fire spread," according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. These firefighters receive up to $10.24 a day and an additional $1 an hour in emergencies, per The Marshall Project. The program allows inmates to receive time off their sentence.
Kardashian appealed to Newsom, urging the governor to "raise the incarcerated firefighter pay to a rate that honors a human being risking their life to save our lives and homes."
She also praised these incarcerated firefighters, who she said seek "to prove to the community that they have changed," as "heroes."
Contributing: Susan Miller, Josh Peter, Adrianna Rodriguez, KiMi Robinson and Brendan Morrow
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LA fires: Khloe Kardashian, James Woods slam California politicians