California wildfires: Khloé Kardashian bashes LA mayor, calls her a 'joke'
2025-01-12
Category: entertainment

Khloé Kardashian is voicing her frustration with Los Angeles officials about the California wildfires that have forced thousands to evacuate their homes and left many families displaced.&nbsp; On Friday, "The Kardashians" star took to social media to share a clip of a Fox 11 interview during which Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass failed the city.&nbsp; Kardashian, who evacuated her Hidden Hills home Friday, shared a screen grab from the clip to her Instagram story, saying, "I stand by YOU Chief Crowley!!!! You spoke the truth and you had tears in your eyes because I can tell you didn’t even want to say that but it was THE TRUTH!!!!" CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: ESSENTIAL PHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES-AREA RESIDENTS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM  "Thank you for being honest," she added. "Mayor Bass you are a joke!!!!" In the interview Kardashian referenced, Crowley discussed budget cuts approved by the mayor months before the fires erupted.&nbsp;  When asked by Fox affiliate KTTV Friday if Mayor Bass failed the city, Crowley replied, "Yes." "Any budget cut is going to impact our ability to provide service," Crowley said. "That is a ground truth in regard to our ability. If there's a budget cut, we had to pull from somewhere else. What does that mean? That doesn't get done or that there are delays." DEAN CAIN PREDICTS CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE CATASTROPHE WILL CHANGE HOW HOLLYWOOD VOTES After the comments were made, a source told Fox 11 Crowley was "ordered" into a meeting with Bass to discuss her remarks. The mayor was "none too pleased," according to the source.&nbsp; Representatives for Kardashian did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.&nbsp; "The Mayor and the Fire Chief are in lock step working together to save lives and protect property," Deputy Mayor of Communications, Zach Seidl, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Courageous firefighters are on the front lines of the firestorm. Resources from all levels of government are available to assist with recovery. Visit emergency.lacity.gov/recovery"  Since the fires broke out Tuesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles officials have faced backlash from celebrities over their lack of preparation and response to the crisis as the fires continue to wreak havoc on the city. LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS During an appearance on "Fox And Friends" Saturday, Patricia Heaton said "the ball was dropped" when it came to prevention.&nbsp;  "The whole city has been decimated, and it hasn't stopped yet," said Heaton. "It's very frustrating. There's a lot that could've been done for the last 40 years to make sure that the fires don't do this to our friends in Los Angeles. The ball was dropped over and over again." Sarah Michelle Gellar chastised Bass Tuesday as the Palisades Fire burned in Los Angeles.  CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: MARK WAHLBERG'S WIFE TEARS INTO GAVIN NEWSOM FOR ‘STANDING AROUND LAUGHING’ "City of LA you want everyone to evacuate yet you have complete gridlock and not one traffic cop on the roads helping," Gellar wrote on her Instagram story with tags to the official social media accounts for the City of Los Angeles and Bass. Mauricio Umansky, founder and CEO of The Agency, a real estate brokerage firm primarily based in Southern California who also starred on Netflix's "Buying Beverly Hills," told Fox News Digital Thursday he was disappointed in the California government's lack of preparation before the fires.&nbsp;  CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER "We are one of the largest economies in the world, California on its own," Umansky said. "Los Angeles, you know, being the second-largest city in the country, our taxes are the highest-paying taxes in the country.&nbsp; "And the fact that we were unprepared, I mean, we're not going to be able to stop an accident from happening, but the fact that our government was unprepared. We didn't do the brush clearance. We didn't have the water in the fire hydrants. We were unprepared, and we did not spend the money where we needed to spend the money."&nbsp; During an appearance on "Jesse Watters Primetime" Thursday, Justine Batemen said LA officials have failed the residents of Los Angeles and should "resign." WATCH: JUSTINE BATEMAN ON CA FIRES: 'IF YOU'RE GOING TO RUN A CITY, YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF THE BASICS'  "If you are going to run a city or a state, you have to take care of the basics," Bateman said. "That's to make sure that your fire and police departments are well-funded. … If you're not doing everything you can to take care of those problems if they arrive, then get out. You are useless to us. … You have destroyed people's lives."&nbsp; CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News Digital's Tracy Wright and Ashley Hume contributed to this post.&nbsp;