Hollywood political stalwart Jeffrey Katzenberg had some choice words to say about billionaire developer Rick Caruso and his 2022 mayoral campaign recently, accusing the former LA mayoral candidate of exploiting the homeless problem by giving tours of “Skid Row” to embarrass city officials.
Caruso, who lost to Karen Bass in the LA mayor election last November, started giving tours of the downtown homeless camps during his campaign to highlight the city’s growing problem while presenting his strategy to solve it.
Katzenberg, a political uber-donor, told Vanity Fair that Caruso should have put his money where his mouth is.
“Caruso, you have $5 billion, why do you keep taking people to Skid Row?” Katzenberg told the magazine. “You just pissed away $104 million on a failed campaign, why don’t you put that towards the homeless on Skid Row?”
Skid Row been around for decades and currently takes up around 50 square blocks in Downtown LA, causing problems with sanitation and security for businesses.
Katzenberg has proposed funding a medical team from UCLA to provide basic medical care to homeless areas, along with other measures.
Caruso said the homeless problem is probably the greatest threat to the city and told TheWrap during the mayoral race last year that new approaches, especially huge increases in affordable housing, are needed to combat the continuing crisis.
“We can’t combat the same old problem with the same old measures that don’t work,” Caruso previously told TheWrap.
In addition to his comments about Caruso, Katzenberg has spoken out recently on other political issues, including offering unequivocal support for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Katzenberg said Biden — who turns 81 in November — should “own his age” and turn a perceived negative into a positive.
He noted that Mick Jagger, who turns 80 next month, is still performing with the Rolling Stones. And, Katzenberg said, Harrison Ford at age 80 is still playing Indiana Jones, with a new film coming out in theaters this week.
