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Frasier star Kelsey Grammer says California leadership ‘took their eye off the ball’ over wildfires

‘I guess you’d call it malfeasance in office,’ said the 69-year-old actor

Kevin E G Perry
Los Angeles
Wednesday 29 January 2025 04:34 GMT
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Frasier star Kelsey Grammer has weighed in on the devastation caused by the recent LA wildfires, claiming that California officials “took their eye off the ball.”

The 69-year-old actor is one of relatively few outspoken conservative voices in Hollywood, and has been vocal about his support for President Donald Trump.

In a new interview with Fox News, Grammer suggested that Hollywood could be moving to the right on the political spectrum.

“I’ve always been a little bit on the more conservative side of things politically around here, so that shift seems to be unfolding because of, just, I guess you’d call it malfeasance in office,” he said.

He added: “I mean, I don’t really know what else to say, but somebody took their eye off the ball, and there’s probably going to be some accountability for that. But you never know in California.”

Grammer also revealed that he and his family had taken in people who’d fled the fires, saying “we had a house full of refugees for a bit. It’s challenging, certainly.”

Kelsey Grammer pictured in September
Kelsey Grammer pictured in September (Getty Images for Paramount+)

He added: “I am devastated by the loss, the human loss, the loss of life. When you lose everything you have, and that’s happened to me a couple of times in my lifetime, it’s just: ‘OK, that’s [when] you pick up, and you figure out what’s going to happen next, one foot in front of the other. That’s how it has to be.

“So for those people, there’s going to be a lot of people around who want to support them and help them. Many of them are going to want to find a new way to live, a new way forward, a new place to live, but I know a lot want to stay, and I wish them well with it. I’ll certainly do everything I can to help. I’m quietly volunteering some stuff behind the scenes, that’s what I want to do.”

Thousands of Los Angeles residents lost their homes in the Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst fires, including Anthony Hopkins, Anna Faris, Mandy Moore, Ricki Lake and Eugene Levy.

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Last week, XXX: Return of Xander Cage actor Nina Dobrev revealed she is experiencing “survivor’s guilt” after being forced to evacuate but ultimately returning to find her home unscathed.

“I have been absolutely sick to my stomach with all the destruction and devastation that these fires have caused and displaced so many families,” Dobrev said in a social media video. “My heart is broken for all the people affected by these wildfires.”

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