Mark Wahlberg’s wife, Rhea Durham, called out California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s laid-back demeanor amid Los Angeles’ devastating wildfires.
On Friday, the model shared a since-deleted post on Instagram in which she uploaded a photo of Newsom, who was standing with his hands in his pockets and sharing a laugh with a group of people at the Palisades Fire base camp in Malibu.
“Why is the Governor of C.A standing around laughing like hes at a tailgate???” Durham wrote in the caption of her post.
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Mark Wahlberg’s wife, Rhea Durham, ripped California Gov. Gavin Newsom about a photo in which he is seen laughing during the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. (Backgrid/Getty)
Reps for Wahlberg and Durham had no comment when reached by Fox News Digital.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Newsom’s director of communications, Izzy Gardon said, “Anyone who’s been through a tragedy knows there are lighthearted moments and moments of sorrow, as the governor has witnessed himself on the ground in Los Angeles over the past three days, meeting countless firefighters, first responders and victims of this tragedy.”
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Durham accused Newsom of treating the Palisades Fire base camp in Malibu like “a tailgate.” (Backgrid)
Since the fires broke out Tuesday, 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.
On Friday, Lorenzo Lamas joined the growing chorus of stars who have shared blistering criticism of the state and local government.
During an interview with Fox News Digital, the actor expressed his outrage, blasting the city’s leadership as “absolutely despicable.”
WATCH: Lorenzo Lamas slams Los Angeles officials’ lack of preparation amid the devastating wildfires
“It angers me so much because I see this as something that could have been avoided,” Lamas said Friday. “I mean, I’ll go out there on a limb and tell you that if this happened a year from now and not now, we’d have a different, probably, set of circumstances.”
Lorenzo Lamas slammed Los Angeles officials as “absolutely despicable” for their lack of preparation for the devastating California wildfires. (Getty)
“At least I think Los Angeles would have been a little bit better prepared a year from now than we are now,” he continued. “And I’m talking about from an administrative level.”
Lamas shared that his hometown is Pacific Palisades, the Los Angeles enclave that has been devastated by the Palisades Fire. Now the most destructive wildfire in the city’s history, the Palisades Fire has consumed over 20,000 acres and remains only 8% contained.
“I grew up in Pacific Palisades,” Lamas said. “I used to play at Will Rogers [State Park]. And that landmark was destroyed.
‘It’s just absolutely devastating,” he continued. “And it angers me to no end that we were not prepared for this. I mean, I could go into a whole list of things.
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“I’m just praying for the people that have been affected by this fire that have lost everything — them, their families, the families of the people that have perished,” Lamas added. “It’s absolutely despicable.”
Sarah Michelle Gellar chastised Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Tuesday as the Palisades Fire burned in Los Angeles.
“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.
The Palisades Fire, driven by strong Santa Ana winds, began in the Santa Monica Mountains late Tuesday morning and quickly engulfed 200 acres within an hour, surging to nearly 3,000 acres by sunset, FOX Weather reported.
Fox News Digital reached out to Mayor Bass’ office for comment.
Sarah Michelle Gellar was one of many who criticized LA Mayor Karen Bass as fires roared through Los Angeles neighborhoods. (Getty Images)
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 preparedness before the fires.
“We are one of the largest economies in the world, California on its own. Los Angeles, you know, being the second-largest city in the country, our taxes are the highest-paying taxes in the country. 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 and all this money.
“The budgets are terrible, and I’m just tremendously disappointed in our politicians. Our mayor not being in town, not rushing to come back into town and being speechless. It’s just it’s unacceptable.”
He added that his agency is doing all it can to help people displaced by the fires get housed.
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 preparedness before the fires. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Homeless Not Toothless)
Mel Gibson slammed California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Joe Rogan’s podcast Thursday, joking that “all our tax dollars probably went to Gavin’s hair gel” instead of wildfire prevention.
He told Rogan he would be surprised if his Pacific Palisades home hadn’t burned down.
“In 2019, Newsom said he would take care of the forest. He didn’t do anything,” Gibson said.
Patricia Heaton on Thursday called the situation “heartbreaking,” adding that many of her friends worked hard for years building beautiful homes for their families, “and it’s all going up in smoke – and preventable by the way.
“We have a mayor who cut the budget of the fire department in California by over $17 million. Fire is the biggest hazard in Los Angeles. Why would you cut the budget? There was no water in the fire hydrants in the Palisades. And, by the way, she wasn’t even in town during, like, fire season. A completely stupid trip to Ghana.”
She added that she doesn’t hate California, she loves it.
“We had 32 beautiful years there, and the people running the show just decimated the place.
“It’s so enraging that they took one of the most beautiful states, maybe the most beautiful state in the union, and just continued to destroy it. Gavin Newsom standing there with his hands in his pockets. ‘Oh Well.’ I just really feel for everybody there. I really do.”
Former “Dancing with the Stars” professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy aired grievances on social media Wednesday, writing, “5th largest economy on the planet. Firefighters didn’t have enough water pressure to do their jobs?! Are you joking me?! The taxes we pay for 3rd world infrastructure is unbelievable?! Come on.”
Sarah Michelle Gellar and professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy criticized the response to the LA fires. (Instagram)
Model and TV personality Amber Rose joined in with concerns over water, writing on her Instagram story, “How TF is there Low water pressure in Los Angeles???? WTF The fire hydrants barely work here??? This is insane!”
Sara Foster wrote on X, “We pay the highest taxes in California. Our fire hydrants were empty. Our vegetation was overgrown, brush not cleared. Our reservoirs were emptied by our governor because tribal leaders wanted to save fish. Our fire department budget was cut by our mayor. But thank god drug addicts are getting their drug kits. @MayorOfLA @GavinNewsom RESIGN. Your far left policies have ruined our state. And also our party.”
Her comments were reposted by Candace Cameron Bure, who previously told Fox News Digital she worries families and small businesses will not recover following the fires.
Fueled by heavy winds, the Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Celebrity fitness trainer Jillian Michaels remembered losing her home in the 2018 Woolsey Fire as she took to X to criticize California’s leadership.
“5th largest economy on the planet. Firefighters didn’t have enough water pressure to do their jobs?! Are you joking me?! The taxes we pay for 3rd world infrastructure is unbelievable?!”
“The mayor is apparently in Ghana,” she wrote. “The fire departments budget was apparently cut by 17 mil. And someone made the decision to not refill some of the reservoirs – now some fire hydrants are dry. Leadership in California is beyond negligent. This is completely unacceptable.”
In another post, Michaels continued, “California governor @GavinNewsom issues a press release admitting they knew about the insane fire risk this past Sunday because he was propositioning fire engines. And yet, he just called in the national guard a few hours ago. Pacific Palisades ran out of water at 3am. I’m so so upset for the people of California. My family who stayed. My lifelong friends who live there. Our brave firefighters. This is not a partisan issue it’s pure incompetence and misprioritization.”
James Woods, who lost his home Tuesday in the Palisades Fire, wrote on X that the blaze wasn’t from “climate change” but due to “liberal idiots like Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass.”
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“One doesn’t understand the first thing about fire management and the other can’t fill the water reservoirs,” he added. Woods posted throughout the day as he prepared to evacuate his home, and he later gave fans a somber update that he had lost his house in the Pacific Palisades.
WATCH: ACTOR JAMES WOODS SAYS ‘IT’S POSSIBLE’ HIS HOUSE IS STILL STANDING
In the rush to evacuate, many people abandoned their cars on roads, and actor Steve Guttenberg sprang into action to help firefighters and moved cars stranded on Sunset Boulevard by residents fleeing the fire, he exclusively told Fox News Digital.
“It’s kind of like Zombieland, you know. There’s all these abandoned cars all over the street,” he said.
Los Angeles Fire Department officials confirmed the Palisades Fire broke out after 11 a.m. near the southeast side of Palisades Drive. Evacuation orders were issued as the blaze grew to approximately 200 acres in size.
Vehicles were abandoned after occupants got stuck in traffic while evacuating. (Getty Images)
Guttenberg, known for his roles in “Police Academy” and “Three Men and a Baby,” urged people who were leaving their vehicles behind while evacuating to also leave their keys so crews could make their way through to the fire.
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“What people do is that they abandon their cars, and it’s a crisis. And they don’t leave their keys in their cars,” Guttenberg told Fox News Digital. “What happens is, the fire trucks can’t get up the street because they have all these abandoned cars with no ability to move them. So, what I was doing was helping out move cars and put them up on the hill and clear the way for the fire department.”
“I just wanted to see what I can do to help out some of my neighbors, but it’s a ghost town.”
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Guttenberg noted the blaze was “the biggest fire that we’ve ever seen in the Palisades. It’s enormous.”
“We’ve had small fires, but this is definitely the biggest one, and it’s just burning out of control in certain areas,” he said. “I was able to make it up here, sort of a pocket where there is no fire. So everybody’s safe, and I just wanted to see what I can do to help out some of my neighbors, but it’s a ghost town. Everybody’s gone. And I think that’s what’s important. That’s what it should be in a big fire like this.”
WATCH: STEVE GUTTENBERG RECALLS HELPING FIRE CREWS DURING THE PALISADES FIRE.
Cars in the aftermath of a Pacific Palisades inferno Jan. 7, 2025. (KTTV)
Actor Dean Cain appeared on “Fox & Friends” and called out California Democrats for their response to the Palisades Fire and others that broke out Wednesday.
Cain, known for his role as Clark Kent in the TV series, “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” claimed the disappointing response was a “perfect storm” of mismanagement and leadership failure.
WATCH: ACTOR DEAN CAIN SLAMS LA’S MISMANAGEMENT OF FIRE RESPONSE ‘PERFECT STORM’ BY LEADERSHIP FAILURE
Zachary Levi appeared on “Jesse Waters Primetime” and called for California’s political leadership to be “held responsible” as wildfires destroyed neighborhoods near Los Angeles.
The “Shazam!” star questioned if there was “criminal intentionality” in the mismanagement of the fire response.
WATCH: ZACHARY LEVI WANTS CALIFORNIA LEADERSHIP ‘HELD RESPONSIBLE’ FOR WILDFIRE RESPONSE
