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Nothing brings people together quite like crazy, violent homeless people destroying your city. So it is that a hodgepodge of Hollywood types — Snoop Dogg, Kim Kardashian, Elon Musk, Gwyneth Paltrow, Katy Perry, Chris Pratt, Maria Shriver, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and billionaire Robert Kraft and his wife — are publicly supporting Rick Caruso, the former Police Commission president, Republican-turned-Democrat running for Los Angeles mayor against Democratic congresswoman Karen Bass.
Caruso’s campaign message is one that resonates in a rundown city rife with crime. “I’m running for mayor because the city we love is in a state of emergency: rampant homelessness, people living in fear for their safety and politicians at city hall just in it for themselves,” said Caruso in one of his campaign ads.
Caruso’s campaign website declares, “As president of the Police Commission, Rick increased public safety, reduced crime and fought corruption. Rick took over leadership of LAPD during a period of turmoil for the LAPD, with the department operating under a federal consent decree. In partnership with LAPD officers, city leadership and community members, Rick oversaw a 30 percent reduction in crime, fought for community policing and police accountability and stood up to political pressure…”
Celebrities, even those not known for their right-leaning viewpoints (it’s been rumored that Chris Pratt is a closet Republican), have felt the heat for supporting Caruso, who was recently registered as a Republican and in the past donated some of his fortune to Senator Mitch McConnell and former president George W. Bush.
Katy Perry was labeled “painfully dumb” and “disappointing” after she announced on Instagram she was voting for Caruso. One Hollis Jane Andrews provided the most hurtful burn of all, writing, “only hot people vote against Rick Caruso. Suck it, Katy Perry.”
Kim Kardashian was similarly mocked when she announced on Twitter that she was voting for Caruso because, “when it comes to my hometown… [Caruso] really can help with the crime in our city, which is such a big issue and super scary.” Cockburn can’t deny the legitimacy of commenters’ questioning if Kardashian is the best judge of character (she’s been married three times, and Kanye West is her most recent ex-husband), but her lethargic online plea sounded sensible enough to Cockburn. Also her stepfather/mother ran for California governor as a Republican.
Nevertheless, Caruso seems to have struck a chord with celebrities who — they’re just like us! — don’t want their loved ones and property to be in danger. What’s more, Caruso himself is a billionaire, and these celebrities probably feel that a politician finally gets them. As Gilbert T. Sewall noted for The Spectator: “Make no mistake, Rick Caruso is also very much in it for himself. His own glossy real estate investments — notably the popular Grove retail and entertainment complex in the heart of the city — are directly imperiled by surging crime, especially at night and on weekends when the big-spending traffic pours in.”
Cockburn is a cynic. Perhaps there’s nothing wrong with politicians looking out for themselves — so long as they’re looking out for everyone else too. And it appears Caruso has a shot at doing just that, as recent polling shows Caruso closing in on Bass.
