Zachary Levi blames 'incredibly poor' leadership for LA wildfires, suggests 'criminal negligence' at play
Actor and longtime Los Angeles resident Zachary Levi expressed strong criticism as California battles devastating wildfires, urging state leaders to be held accountable and describing the situation as "very personal" to him.
"This is the most devastating fire in Los Angeles history," a visibly shook-up Levi told "Jesse Watters Primetime" Wednesday night. "My family's from Ventura, California. I grew up there most of my life, and then I was in L.A. for 15 years."
He further compared the devastating wildfires on the news to "watching a post-apocalyptic war film."
Levi stated why he believes California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and the state's leadership should be held responsible.
"This is just incredible mismanagement, incredibly poor leadership. I would go so far as to saying that it's criminally negligent because, I mean, Gavin Newsom has been either the governor for five years or lieutenant governor prior to that for eight, nine years, some of the worst fires we've ever had in California under that watch. He clearly knows that the biggest problem that we suffer in California are these fires. And, by the way, the mudslides that follow," Levi explained.
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"And for them to do essentially not just nothing, but worse than nothing, when firefighter budgets are being cut, when they are specifically, intentionally not doing the work that could be done to avoid these problems or to be able to effectively serve them when they are happening."
"There is something that's almost criminally intentional about this. Like, what are they doing? I don't know," Levi questioned.
"I have no idea why they are doing or not doing the things that they are doing. But they must be held responsible. This is not good leadership," he added.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has faced heavy criticism for traveling to Ghana while her city grapples with the devastating fires and her cuts to the LA Fire Department’s budget last year.
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The "Shazaam!" star also criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom’s "character," referencing the infamous French Laundry incident during COVID-19, where Newsom was photographed dining with friends in violation of his own state’s protocols.
"I mean, listen, you know, this is the man who in the middle of the pandemic, when people were being locked up for going and gathering together. He was at French Laundry having dinner with his friends. What does that say about the character of this man who was doing nothing to help the people of California? I don't believe that he is," said Levi. "And so I think that there needs to be some kind of, you know, accountability that's held to the leadership not just of California, but also of our nation, you know?"
Levi says that he considers fire insurance the "most criminal" aspect of the situation.
"I don't know if you know this, but like 70% or so of the insured in Southern California that used to have fire insurance in their homes months ago, this insurance was taken away," Levi stated. "The insurance company said, no, we're not going to offer fire insurance anymore. What do they need to do in flood insurance and in fire insurance? This is a fire hazard. Of course, that's the insurance that they need and they want. And just months ago, this was stripped from people. Like this is not okay. It is not okay in any way, shape or form."
He urged people to keep Southern Californians affected by the fires in their thoughts and prayers. "We need to send as much love, light, and support as we can to everybody who’s being affected right now," Levi said.