Man claims ‘gay people’ caused LA wildfires

News reporters were quick to shut down a man who claimed that the LA wildfires started because of the existence of LGBTQ+ people.

Several fires continue to blaze across the north of LA, destroying more 1,000 homes and leaving at least 10 people dead.

Nearly 180,000 people have been told to evacuate as the fires raged through populated areas, pushed by strong winds. The Palisades fire in Malibu alone is believed to cover almost 20,000 acres.

As residents, officials and journalists continued to look for answers, several newscasters in the area were stunned to encounter a man who said he believed the fires had started because of gay people.

During a broadcast on Fox News affiliated KTTV on Thursday (9 January), reporters spoke to a passer-by who said: “Why is there a fire happening right now? You’re the news, you’re supposed to know.

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LA newscasters: “We don’t know how the fires started.”

Random guy: “I think it’s all the gay people in LA.”

I just happened to see this live on Youtube just now. pic.twitter.com/9GOYFyFH4J

— Words are words (@Wordsarewordz) January 9, 2025

“I think it’s all the gay people in LA.”

His comments were met with groans from the reporters, who walked away and called his comments unacceptable.

While it’s obviously not true that the existence of LGBTQ+ people caused the wildfires, the belief that queer people are somehow responsible for the difficulties containing them has spread among the right-wing media.

Several pundits, including Fox News host Jesse Watters, blamed LGBTQ+ fire department chief Kristin Crowley’s policies for the destructive nature of the fires, saying he believed the blaze was a sign that California was “committing suicide before our very eyes”.

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