As the wildfires began to engulf Los Angeles and its surrounding communities, many people online, including celebrities and politicians, were quick to criticize the city’s mayor, Karen Bass. were doing, and accused them of poor leadership and slow response times when she returned to the city. The criticism came from Ghana, although it was still unclear what sparked the fire, which killed at least 25 people, destroyed thousands of homes and burned nearly 40,000 acres of land.
In response, a number of black women defended her, saying that Ms. Bass was facing a double standard that she felt faced many black women leaders in this country.
Among those pushing for patience and fair treatment is Areva Martin, a Los Angeles civil rights attorney. In a post on X, he called what he called “Widespread misinformationAbout Ms. Boss. In a phone interview Tuesday, Ms. Martin said the country’s political climate had played a large role in criticism of Ms. Bass.
“We’ve seen the far right take advantage of natural disasters and other tragedies as opportunities to sow division and chaos and cast doubt on the leadership of Democratic elected officials, particularly African-American elected officials,” Ms. Martin said. Seen using as.”
Critics were critical. After the fire, President-elect Donald J. Trump took to his Truth social site to say that officials in charge of fighting the wildfires were “incompetent”, claiming they “didn’t know how to put it out”. Rick Caruso, a real estate developer who lost a mayoral race to Ms. Bass in 2022, has cited her leadership and absence as the start of the wildfires. “A colossal failure of epic proportions.”
Despite warnings of severe fire danger in the area, Ms Bass, who earlier said She will not travel abroad. As mayor, she was on an official visit to Ghana to attend the inauguration of its new president when the fire broke out on January 7. She returned to Los Angeles on January 8.
But his travel decisions were mixed with questions. Misleading claims About cuts to the city’s fire department budget that Ms. Bass approved last year. Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong posted on X that “Competence is importantCiting their decisions, however, the city and the firefighters’ union were negotiating a new contract when the city’s budget was approved last year and the fire department’s budget. Not added yet The projected increase, means this year’s fire budget is actually $53 million higher than last year.
Joining the chorus of critical voices were Los Angeles-based celebrities, including Sarah Michelle Gellar, James Woods, Khloe Kardashian And Sarah Fosterall of whom criticized Ms Bass’s response and leadership.
It’s common for people to blame elected leaders in times of crisis, with Governor Gavin Newsom being a frequent target in the current news cycle. But after Ms. Bass’s initial criticism, a wave of voices, many of them black women, defended the mayor, saying black women were more heavily criticized than other groups.
Lovey Ajay JonesWas an author, speaker and digital strategist in Chicago A post of support for Ms. Boss Widely shared on social media with over 10,000 likes on Instagram alone. It was a long line of cases where black women are scapegoated, she said in a phone interview.
“These are the ways people are trying to find reasons to come to him and I think it’s very easy for them because, again, it’s a normal thing to do,” Ms. Ajay Jones said. has become,” said Ms. Ajay Jones.
Actress and talk show host Whoopi Goldberg said Monday on “The View” that she took “huge offense” to people who are already pointing fingers at city and state officials. And actresses Yvette Nicole Brown and Kim Whitley stand in for Miss Boss, the first woman and second black person to be elected mayor of Los Angeles. TMZ interview this weekHe faced more criticism from his peers, citing race and misogyny.
In a phone interview Tuesday, Ms. Brown, who has lived in California for nearly 30 years, said she had never seen a single city mayor “thrown under the bus” after a natural disaster.
“So I’ve decided,” he said, “after what happened with Kamala Harris in this election, where misinformation was allowed to run rampant and was able to flourish for too long, I’m going to fight for mayor before it turns into another big lie.”
Ms. Ajay Jones said she believes it is common for black women leaders to inherit problems that existed before they assumed roles, only to be blamed later when things go wrong. He cited the treatment of Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential race and conversations with former Harvard University president Claudine Gay. who resigned. After criticism of his congressional testimony about antisemitism and Allegations of plagiarism.
“It’s tiring to see this happen over and over again,” Ms. Ajay Jones said.
Ms. Martin, who echoed many of Ms. Ajay Jones’s sentiments, said she supported Ms. Bass’s selection in part because of her previous roles in the House of Representatives and state assembly, as well as community service. Because of his experience as an organizer.
“Any suggestion that she is incompetent or that she hires DEI is offensive,” he said.