LOS ANGELES, CA — Actor Mel Gibson has stepped into the spotlight once again as part of a new campaign to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday.
The actor, whose career took a downturn after a DUI arrest and an antisemitic outburst in 2006, has recently turned his attention to politics. Just last month, President Donald Trump appointed him as the “special ambassador to Hollywood” via a tweet. At a press conference in Altadena on Wednesday, the “Braveheart” star declared that the governor has “given us nothing but crime, severe homelessness, and terrible inflation — this industry I am part of, the film industry, used to be the heart of filmdom. That is no longer the case.”
He also held California and Los Angeles officials responsible for the devastating fires that occurred last month.
This issue hits home for him, as the actor lost his Malibu residence in the Palisades Fire.
Standing in the fire-damaged hills of Altadena alongside the recall group Saving California, Gibson asserted that residents are entitled to better leadership from city and state officials.
“Gov. Newsom and Karen Bass have let us down,” Gibson stated. “California was not prepared and lacked the resources to handle the fires we knew were coming. Are we to assume our elected officials were unaware of this?”
Saving America has announced plans to file recall papers against Newsom within the next two weeks,
Saving America has indicated that a team of signature-gatherers is ready to harness voter frustration regarding the response to the wildfires.
As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, the group needs to collect 1.3 million signatures within the next 160 days. A previous attempt by Rescue America fell short of collecting enough signatures last year.
This marks the eighth recall effort aimed at Newsom, but only one has gained enough momentum to reach the ballot. That occurred in 2021 when public sentiment changed due to pandemic-related shutdowns, but the recall was defeated by 62 percent of voters.
Newsom has acknowledged the most recent recall attempt in a statement released by his office to FOX11.
“Governor Newsom is concentrating on leading the state and managing recovery from the LA fires – not on politics. It’s important to remember that the same group of far-right MAGA supporters has made seven different attempts to recall the governor since he took office, all of which have failed miserably. Even Republican leaders have condemned these repeated efforts as a blatant campaign finance ‘grift,’ and the recall organizers have been sued by their own donors for misappropriating previously raised funds. For instance, the organizers didn’t even submit a single signature in their last effort in 2024, and just weeks ago, their petition was rejected by the Secretary of State for not adhering to basic signature guidelines.”
Newsom’s term is set to conclude in 2027.
