Tiger Bech ’21 had a magnetic personality and a larger-than-life sense of humor. He was described by Princeton football coaches as fearless, and Bech’s teammates gravitated toward him as a source of joy and encouragement on and off the field.
“It’s very jarring because he had this like aura of untouchability,” Harrison Caponiti ’23, a Princeton football teammate, tells PAW.
The truck driver, identified by law enforcement as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was an Army veteran. He drove into a crowd with a black ISIS flag on the truck’s rear bumper early on New Year’s Day, killing 14 people and injuring about 30 others. The FBI has stated that the attack was an act of terrorism. Jabbar, 42, was killed in a shootout with police.
Bech was in New Orleans to celebrate New Year’s with fellow Princeton football alumnus Ryan Quigley ’20, who suffered serious injuries as a result of the attack.
Tiger Bech ’21
Princeton Athletics
A Louisianan, Bech grew up in Lafayette and attended St. Thomas More Catholic High School. He earned all-state honors as a football player.
“He was like a lightning bolt that streaked across all of our lives, with the intensity of his love in the bright light of his personality and laughter,” said his high school position coach Lance Strother in a Facebook post. “He lit up our world and we’ll never forget it.”
Bech majored in sociology and played for the Princeton football team, earning All-Ivy honors as a punt returner in 2017 and 2018, and recording 825 receiving yards during his career as a wide receiver.
Going into the 2018 season, Bech “was part of a group that was arguably one of the strongest in the league and one of the most talented,” says Mark Rosenbaum, the quarterbacks coach for the Princeton football team. In 2018, his first year at Princeton, he was the wide receivers coach, and got to know Bech.
“He grew immensely in his approach to the details and in meetings and practice and everything,” Rosenbaum says. “And I think what defined him as a player is just his toughness and courage.”
Carson Bobo ’23 was a tight end on the football team and remembers looking up to Bech when learning the offense during his freshman year.
“Things are hard when you’re freshmen and you kind of look up to the older guys to guide you. And he was always just having a good time smiling and never took anything too seriously — while he kept the important things important,” says Bobo.
At his funeral service, people spoke about Bech’s love for life, outgoing personality, and how he cherished those around him.
Quigley and Bech worked together at Seaport Global Holdings, an investment company in New York City.
“From the moment that [Bech] joined our firm, he was recognized as a very positive, energetic young man, exceptional in many ways,” says Victor Kurylak ’79, COO of Seaport.
According to multiple people who attended Bech’s wake, the funeral home was nearly overwhelmed by the number of mourners, with a line of people wrapped around the building. “The love that came from the funeral, oh my goodness … this place was packed,” says Bobo.
Some alumni flew into Atlanta and drove eight hours to Lafayette to be there for Bech’s funeral.
“He was a ‘Tiger’ in every way — a ferocious competitor with endless energy, a beloved teammate, and a caring friend,” said head football coach Bob Surace ’90 in a statement. “Our last conversation was about how proud I was of the growth he showed during his time at Princeton and the success he was having after graduation.”
At Bech’s funeral service, his siblings emphasized how his death had brought so many people together in love.
“He was my best friend. My role model. My number one fan. The person I always wanted to grow up and be,” said Jack Bech, Tiger’s younger brother, at the service. Jack Bech is a wide receiver at Texas Christian University.
“He did everything he set out to do this side of heaven, except for watching me live out my dream of playing in the NFL,” Jack Bech said. “But now, he will have the best seat in the house.”
Hope Perry ’24 is PAW’s reporting fellow.
Tiger Bech, a beloved member of the class of 2021, was known for his infectious joy both on and off the field. With a passion for sports and a heart of gold, Tiger touched the lives of all who knew him.
On the field, Tiger was a force to be reckoned with. His speed and agility made him a standout player in both soccer and track, earning him respect and admiration from teammates and opponents alike. But it wasn’t just his athleticism that made Tiger special – it was his positive attitude and unwavering dedication to his team that truly set him apart.
Off the field, Tiger was a true friend to all. His warm smile and kind words could brighten anyone’s day, and his genuine care and concern for others made him a pillar of strength in the community. Whether he was cheering on his friends at a game or lending a listening ear to someone in need, Tiger was always there, ready to offer support and encouragement.
Sadly, Tiger’s life was cut short far too soon. His passing has left a void in the hearts of all who knew him, but his memory will live on in the countless lives he touched. Let us remember Tiger not for the sorrow of his loss, but for the joy he brought to us all. Rest in peace, Tiger Bech. You will be forever missed.
Donald Trump did not win the 2024 election — the Democratic Party lost it.
So argues Michael Podhorzer, a former political director of the AFL-CIO and author of the highly influential Substack, Weekend Reading.
Podhorzer’s recently published newsletter on how Trump “won” — he insists on those quotation marks — garnered lots of attention among Democratic insiders. In it, he explains that America didn’t “shift rightward” in 2024 but “couchward.” American voters’ “basic values or priorities” did not become more conservative. Democrats lost merely because turnout among “anti-MAGA” voters collapsed.
Podhorzer does not pair his diagnosis of the Democrats’ woes with any detailed prescription for remedying them. But he suggests that the party does not need to “move right”: Its task isn’t to win over swing voters who sympathize with the Republican message on immigration, crime, inflation, or any other issue. Rather, it is to mobilize young, disaffected anti-Trump voters by alerting them to the dangers of Republican rule and addressing their desire for “systemic change.”
The demobilization of such voters in 2024 had two primary causes, in Podhorzer’s account: First, the media, the Biden administration, and Democrats in Congress all failed to convey the “existential dangers” that a second Trump administration posed. And second, “justifiable disaffection and anger” with a “billionaire-captured system” left many anti-MAGA voters too cynical to bother with the electoral process.
Some aspects of Podhorzer’s analysis are both correct and salutary. He is right to insist that the 2024 election did not reveal a broad mandate for the conservative movement’s agenda. Trump’s national margin was exceptionally narrow and Republicans just barely managed to eke out a House majority.
This said, I think Podhorzer’s big-picture take is wrong. Democrats’ problem in 2024 was not merely that it failed to mobilize cynical, anti-Trump voters. The party also lost the arguments over inflation, immigration, and crime to the Republican Party. Trump did not convert a supermajority of Americans to conservatism. But he did convince a critical slice of voters that he was the better option on at least some of the issues that they cared about most.
There are (at least) three problems with Podhorzer’s analysis:
1) Voters who backed Biden in 2020 — and then stayed home in 2024 — are not necessarily resolutely anti-Trump.
Podhorzer’s argument assumes that Biden voters who stayed home in 2024 could not have done so out of sympathy for any of Trump’s messages. But there’s little basis for that assumption. Low-propensity voters are less ideological than reliable ones, and voters often choose to sit out elections because they are conflicted, agreeing with some of what each party has to say. There’s reason to think that this dynamic drove part of the Democrats’ turnout problem in 2024: Both polling and geographical voting patterns indicate that low-propensity voters became more Republican-leaning during the Biden era.
2) Young, first-time voters turned against the Democratic Party.
The electorate’s youngest voters appear to have been far more right-wing in 2024 than in 2020. This is not a problem that can be attributed to mobilization. Republicans seem to have simply had greater success in appealing to first-time voters last year than they have for a long time.
3) In the Biden era, American voters did become more conservative in some of their values and priorities.
Contrary to Podhorzer’s suggestion, there is considerable evidence that voters grew more right-wing in their attitudes toward immigration and criminal justice and more likely to prioritize those issues. Meanwhile, the electorate also grew more confident in the GOP’s economic judgement.
Given these realities, if Democrats accept Podhorzer’s thesis — and conclude that they do not need to win over Republican-curious voters, but can win solely by mobilizing staunch anti-Trumpers desperate for “systemic change” — they will likely have a more difficult time winning White House in 2028.
Perhaps more importantly, unless Democrats manage to win over some Trump voters, they will have little hope of winning back Senate control. It is worth remembering that Joe Biden’s 2020 coalition only delivered a bare majority in Congress’ upper chamber — and that majority hinged on the fluke that was Joe Manchin. Thus, to regain the power to pass legislation and appoint judges without Republican permission, Democrats must not only mobilize their coalition, but broaden it.
If you’re losing voters to “the couch,” you’re probably losing arguments to the other party.
The foundation of Podhorzer’s analysis is one incontrovertible fact: The Democratic Party’s presidential vote tally fell by far more between 2020 and 2024 than the GOP’s increased. Kamala Harris received 6.26 million fewer votes than Biden had in 2020, while Trump improved on his own tally from four years ago by just 3 million.
When interpreting this drop in Democratic turnout, Podhorzer puts enormous weight on one survey question from AP VoteCast (which is like an exit poll, but more reliable). Each election, VoteCast asks Americans whether they voted primarily “for” their candidate or “against” the other one. Between 2020 and 2024, the percentage of Americans who said they were voting “against” Trump declined considerably. In raw vote terms, the survey implies that 41 million Americans cast a ballot primarily “against Trump” in 2020, while just 26 million did so in 2024.
From these data points, Podhorzer concludes that 1) Democrats didn’t lose because the American electorate moved right, but rather because their party’s turnout collapsed and 2) that turnout collapse was driven more or less entirely by the demobilization of resolutely anti-Trump voters.
But Podhorzer’s interpretation of this data is dubious. The fact that more voters said they were casting a ballot “against Trump” in 2020 than in 2024 does not necessarily mean that disaffected “anti-Trump” voters sat out the latter election en masse.
For one thing, VoteCast’s question forces Democrats to choose between saying they are primarily “for” their party’s nominee or “against Trump.” Thus, a Democratic voter who wasn’t that inspired by Biden in 2020 — but was excited to elect the first Black woman president last year — might have told pollsters she was primarily “anti-Trump” in 2020 but mainly “pro-Harris” in 2024. In Podhorzer’s framing, such a person would count as a “missing anti-MAGA voter,” since they contributed to the “anti-Trump” total in 2020 but not in 2024. But this hypothetical Democratic voter didn’t go anywhere, they just became more passionate about the Democratic nominee.
And Podhorzer’s own data suggests that a lot of Democratic voters fall into this exact bucket. According to the figures he presents from VoteCast, only 25 percent of all voters in 2020 said they were primarily “pro-Biden.” Four years later, 32 percent said they were mainly “pro-Harris.” Thus, part of the decline in the “primarily anti-Trump” vote is attributable to an increase in Democrats’ enthusiasm for their party’s standard-bearer.
More critically, just because a given voter cast a ballot “against Trump” in 2020 does not mean that they still strongly opposed him in 2024. And this seems like an especially unsafe assumption to make about a voter who chose to sit out the latter election.
To be clear, it is surely true that many “Biden 2020, Living Room Couch 2024” voters were staunchly anti-Trump. But it’s likely that some within this bloc chose to abstain last year because they had grown more sympathetic to aspects of Trump’s message.
As I’ve previously noted, the forces that lead a party’s voters to switch sides — and the forces that lead them to drop out of the electorate — are often largely the same.
According to a study by the Ohio State University political scientist Jon Green, Obama voters who exhibited high levels of sexism — or agreed with Trump on immigration, gun control, climate change, or another major issue — were more likely than other Obama voters to defect to the GOP in 2016. That isn’t terribly surprising. More interesting, however, is that these very same qualities made an Obama voter more likely to sit out the 2016 election. Thus, Trump’s advocacy for conservative culture war positions, and exploitation of sexist resentment against Hillary Clinton, simultaneously won over some Democratic voters while demobilizing others.
Green’s basic finding — that when voters feel more torn about the choice facing them in an election, they become less likely to turn out — is buttressed by a larger body of political science research. The distinction between persuasion and mobilization is therefore a flawed one: Attempts to persuade swing voters — through direct mail or television ads — often have the effect of demobilizing the other party’s base, likely by increasing its ambivalence.
All this provides us with theoretical reasons to suspect that many “missing anti-MAGA” voters became more sympathetic to Republican messaging between 2020 and 2024. And empirical data reinforces this impression.
Polling in 2024 consistently showed Trump gaining ground with disengaged, low-propensity Democratic voters. In May, the New York Times/Siena poll showed Biden (then, the presumptive Democratic nominee) winning only 75 percent of Democratic voters who had sat out the 2022 midterms, even as he won virtually all high-turnout Democrats.
Meanwhile, last year’s election results showed that Democrats gained vote-share in neighborhoods that had high turnout rates in 2022 and 2020, but lost ground in neighborhoods that have chronically low turnout rates. Combined with the available polling, this seems indicative of a broad shift toward Trump among constituencies with a low propensity to vote and a history of supporting Democrats.
The most intuitive explanation for this shift is inflation. Low propensity voters tend to be less partisan than reliable voters (and so, more likely to evaluate incumbents on the basis of economic conditions) and less affluent (and so, more likely to resent rapid changes in consumer prices). And a YouGov poll of “disengaged voters” from July 2024 found that “prices and inflation” were their top concern, and that they had more negative views of both the economy and Biden than engaged voters did.
The kids are all right (or, more of them are than in the past)
Podhorzer’s analysis focuses on the behavior of Biden 2020 voters. He notes that, according to VoteCast, only 4 percent of such voters backed Trump in 2024. From this, he concludes that any movement toward the GOP was negligible.
But this leaves first-time voters out of the picture. And several data points indicate that such voters were sharply more conservative in 2024 than they had been in the recent past.
In NBC News’s exit poll, Trump won first-time voters by 55 to 44 percent. This was a massive reversal from 2020, when Biden won them by 32 points in the same survey. And a large part of Democrats’ woes with first-time voters seems attributable to the declining liberalism of young Americans. In 2020, Biden won voters under 25 by 34 points, according to NBC’s exit poll. Four years later, Harris won them by just 11.
Exit polls are highly flawed. But Democrats’ performance with young voters looks even worse in more reliable data sources. For example, AP VoteCast shows Harris winning voters under 30 by just 4 points in 2024 after Biden had won them by 25 — a development that suggests the youngest, newly registered voters were unusually rightwing last year.
Meanwhile, election returns show that Democrats lost more ground between 2020 and 2024 in younger parts of the country than in older ones.
Finally, the fact that the youngest zoomers are aberrantly conservative is also apparent in some states’ voter registration data. Voters 18 to 25 in North Carolina were more likely to register as Republicans than Democrats over the past four years, a break with that purple state’s historical pattern.
It is odd that Podhorzer does not grapple more with this development, since his pre-election analysis presumed that younger voters were so reliably and overwhelmingly anti-MAGA, Democrats didn’t need to worry about winning over swing voters so long as they energized America’s youth. In June 2023, he explained “there’s no reason to listen to those who still think Democrats need to focus on winning back Trump-leaning voters instead of simply doing everything necessary to maintain the support of those who have already rejected Trump/MAGA and continue to turn them out, along with mobilizing those voters aging into the electorate.” (In the same piece, Podhorzer also argued that there was no reason “to listen to those who panic at any survey which shows Biden substantially behind,” as the midterm and special election results “consistently show that the voters in the key Purple states reject MAGA/Trump when the choice is clear.”)
One could try to reconcile Gen Z’s right turn with Podhorzer’s thesis by attributing it entirely to depressed youth turnout among young Democrats. Yet as noted above, polling suggests that politically disengaged Americans were more Republican-leaning this cycle than engaged ones.
People’s political identities tend to be most malleable when they are young. Therefore, the fact that voters who came of age under Biden were unusually likely to become Republicans seems indicative of a rightward turn in America’s political environment — and one that could potentially reverberate for years to come.
In the Biden era, Americans did grow more conservative in some of their views – and more trustful of Republican economic management
Podhorzer suggests that America couldn’t have shifted “rightward” because voters’ values and priorities are largely stable. As he writes, “A collapse in support for Democrats does not mean that most Americans, especially in Blue America, are suddenly eager to live in an illiberal theocracy.”
But this is a strawman. No one is claiming that the typical resident of California wants to live under an American Taliban. Rather, the question is whether marginal voters — those who lack strong partisan attachments — became either more conservative in their issue preferences or priorities during the Biden era.
And the answer seems to be yes.
This is most apparent on the issue of immigration. In May 2020, 34 percent of voters told Gallup they wanted immigration increased, while just 28 percent said they want it reduced. By June 2024, support for cutting immigration had soared to 55 percent, while that for increasing it had fallen to 16 percent. This marked the first time since 2005 that a majority of Americans had supported cutting admissions.
Podhorzer notes that Democrats’ support dropped off most steeply in blue states, and takes this as a sign that America shifted couchward rather than rightward, since he considers it implausible that voters in blue states could have become substantially more conservative.
Yet polls showed voters in New York, California, and Illinois all turning against immigration over the past two years, with 58 percent of Empire State residents agreed with the statement, “New Yorkers have already done enough and should try and slow the flow” of migrants.
This punitive turn in blue-state criminal justice policy likely reflects rising popular concern with crime during the Biden era. In Gallup’s polling, the percentage of Americans who considered crime in the United States an “extremely or serious problem” jumped from 51 percent in 2020 to 63 percent in 2023.
If voters grew more conservative in their attitudes toward crime and immigration during the Biden years, they also gave those issues higher priority. Between 2020 and 2024, the percentage of voters who said that immigration was “very important” to their vote in the Pew Research Center’s polling jumped from 52 percent to 61 percent. The share who deemed “violent crime” very important jumped more modestly from 59 to 61 percent.
Finally, it is also clear that voters came to view Republican economic management more favorably over the course of Biden’s presidency. In 2020, voters told Gallup that Democrats were better able to keep America prosperous than Republicans were by a margin of 48 to 47 percent. By 2024, the GOP led on that question by a margin of 50 to 44 percent.
Nostalgia for the pre-inflation, Trump economy seems to have led many voters to reevaluate the Republican’s tenure. In April 2024, a CNN poll found 55 percent of Americans saying Trump’s presidency had been a success, up from 41 percent in January 2021.
Thus, the America of 2024 was more hostile to immigration, more hardline on criminal justice policy, and more confident in the GOP’s superior economic wisdom than the America of 2020. I think that constitutes a rightward shift.
Dismissing Podhorzer’s diagnosis of the Democrats’ plight does not necessarily compel one to reject his prescriptions for the party’s future.
It seems entirely possible that Democrats could win the White House in 2028 without moving right on any issue, not least because Biden and Harris already moderated the party’s stances on immigration and crime considerably. At present, Democrats appear more likely to moderate excessively on immigration than insufficiently, with most of the party lining up behind the reckless Laken Riley Act in recent days.
And Podhorzer is surely not wrong that Democrats should seek to increase the salience of Trumpism’s most extreme aspects, nor that the party should speak to voters’ discontent with the economic system (although, it is important not to mistake anti-institutional sentiment for lockstep backing of the entire progressive economic agenda).
Nevertheless, I think it’s important for Democrats to be clear-eyed about the nature of their problems. The party’s failure to retain credibility on economic management, immigration, and crime made some Americans see MAGA in a better light. Some of that failure is attributable to bad luck. But Democrats will still be ill-equipped to preempt similar setbacks in the future if they refuse to admit that this one occurred. Trump really did win the 2024 election. There’s no use in denying it.
There are many factors that contributed to Kamala Harris’s loss to Donald Trump in the 2024 election, but one of the key reasons was not just turnout. While it is true that voter turnout played a significant role in the outcome of the election, there were other factors at play that ultimately led to Harris’s defeat.
One of the main reasons for Harris’s loss was her inability to effectively connect with voters and inspire enthusiasm among the electorate. Throughout her campaign, Harris struggled to clearly define her message and vision for the country, which left many voters feeling uncertain about her ability to lead.
Additionally, Harris faced criticism for her handling of key issues, such as the economy, healthcare, and immigration. Many voters felt that Harris’s policies were too radical or unrealistic, leading them to ultimately choose Trump as the safer option.
Furthermore, Harris’s campaign was plagued by internal conflicts and lack of organization, which hindered her ability to effectively reach out to key demographics and secure crucial endorsements.
In the end, Kamala Harris’s loss in the 2024 election was not just due to turnout, but a combination of factors that ultimately led to Trump’s victory. It serves as a reminder that a strong campaign strategy, clear messaging, and effective leadership are crucial components to winning an election.
Tags:
Kamala Harris, 2024 election, Donald Trump, turnout, election analysis, political analysis, election results, voting trends, election outcome, campaign strategy
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Scoot Henderson had 25 points and the Portland Trail Blazers snapped a five-game losing streak with a 113-102 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday night.
Zach LaVine had 27 points for the Bulls. They have lost five straight.
Portland stretched its lead to 97-82 on Shaedon Sharpe’s 3-pointer with 7:36 left. Patrick Williams’ dunk got the Bulls within single digits at 110-102 with 1:26 left. Deni Avdija answered with a layup for Portland to end the threat.
Sharpe came off the bench for the Blazers after coach Chauncey Billups told him his defense needed to improve to return to a starting role. Sharpe finished with 23 points.
The Bulls led by as 15 points in the first half. Henderson made back-to-back 3-pointers that got the Blazers to 43-42.
Portland tied it at 45 on Jerami Grant’s 3 and it was even at 53 going into the break.
Portland, playing the second of a back-to back, pulled ahead early in the second half, leading by as much as 65-57 on Avdija’s 3-pointer. Ayo Dosunmu made a 3 for the Bulls that tied it at 75 but Chicago wasn’t able to pull in front.
Avdija finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Takeaways
Bulls: Lonzo Ball (right thigh contusion/injury management), Jevon Carter (illness) and Chris Duarte (personal reasons) were unavailable for the Bulls.
Trail Blazers: Anfernee Simons did not play for the Blazers because of a right elbow strain. But both Avdija (right ankle) and Deandre Ayton (lower back) were available.
Key moment
Henderson pulled down a defensive rebound and sprinted downcourt under pressure before passing it off to Sharpe for the layup, giving the Blazers an 87-77 lead going into the final quarter.
Key stat
Portland ended up a disappointing 1-4 on its homestand.
Up next
The Bulls are at the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night. The Trail Blazers are at Miami on Tuesday night.
The Chicago Bulls suffered another tough loss last night against the Portland Trail Blazers, extending their losing streak to five games. Despite a strong effort from their star players, the Bulls were unable to come out on top against a talented Blazers team. The loss raises questions about the Bulls’ consistency and ability to compete with top teams in the league. Fans are hoping for a turnaround soon as the Bulls look to get back on track and secure a playoff spot. #ChicagoBulls #NBA #LosingStreak #TrailBlazers
There’s a strange double standard in how we treat the Fury brothers. Tyson Fury is held as a paragon of mental health awareness: a larger than life reminder that we should always be mindful of how we treat people, especially those in the public eye. We never know what’s going on behind closed doors, or, more importantly, between the ears. Tommy Fury, on the other hand, doesn’t receive the same deference. Spend some time flicking through the comments section of his Instagram if you’re after a low-light reel of how awful people can be to complete strangers.
We’ve made it socially acceptable, even celebrated, to bash reality TV stars. Despite multiple suicides related to the show, it really does feel like it’s free game to rip into anyone who’s appeared on Love Island.
In my brief encounter with him, Tommy Fury comes across as every bit as likeable, jovial and salt of the earth as his big brother. By his own admission he’ll never be on Tyson’s level as a fighter, but that’s not really saying much when you’re talking about a generational talent like Fury. But this seems like a flimsy reason to give one brother the basic level of human decency they deserve, while declaring open season on the other.
Tommy’s very clear, he’s not looking for sympathy, he comes from humble beginnings and he is acutely aware of how lucky he is. To me he is just a young man struggling with the same identity issues that the rest of us wrestle with when we hit a rough patch in our lives, except he’s doing it under a microscope.
We sat down to talk identity, purpose, training, alcohol, fatherhood – and how he only packed four t-shirts for Love Island because he didn’t think he’d be there long.
@jamieshxker//Instagram
Men’s Health: You’re a cruiserweight boxer. Ten fights, ten wins, four knockouts. But you’re also a very well-known star outside of boxing. Wikipedia tells me you are a ‘reality TV personality’. Social media seems to love arguing over which one you are primarily. How do you define yourself?
Tommy Fury: I define myself by how I’ve lived all my life. There’s never been a week that’s passed where I haven’t fought or trained with my dad. I started at six, hitting his hands and I’ve been in the gym since. I’m a fighter through and through. I’ve done Love Island, but one show does not define me, just as one fight doesn’t define a person. Someone can’t say they’re a fighter after having one fight. They’ve got to live it. And that’s what I’ve done for the past 25 years.
MH: How do you handle the criticism you face in that regard?
TF: I have to try and ignore it. At the end of the day, ever since I can remember, there’s always been criticism. Even when I was a kid, 12 or 13 sparring in the gym, everyone used to come over and say, ‘Oh, it’s Tyson’s brother sparring now let’s have a look, see if he’s any good!’, ‘He doesn’t move like Tyson!’ or ‘He is not as good as Tyson!’
I’ve said this from my first press conference, I’m not trying to be Tyson. There’ll never be another Tyson. I’m just trying to do the best for myself that I can.
Tyson was a world champion when I was a young lad, so there’s always a lot of media attention. I was fighting in front of much larger crowds than other people would do on their first fight. Pressure is something I’ve had to live with. I don’t think that’s something that will ever go away.
MH: What impact do you think appearing on Love Island had on your reputation as a professional boxer?
TF: People in the industry and fellow boxers felt like I wasn’t as hungry anymore, wasn’t as dedicated.
I didn’t do Love Island to get away from what I was doing. I wasn’t in an unhappy job that I hated and wanted a way out of. I absolutely love my job. I wake up every single day and I love that I’m a fighter and I’m a boxer. It’s a privilege. I did Love Island purely because my next fight had been cancelled. I took the opportunity because I’d been training a lot and I wanted a holiday. I packed four tops, four pairs of shorts and one pair of shoes because I thought I was going to be there for a very short period of time. I thought I’d go there for a week or so, put my feet up, have a nice bit of sun-bathing, [then] get back in the gym and crack on with my next fight.
MH: Do you think many 19-year-old lads would say no to that opportunity?
TF: This is the thing. It’s like that even today. So many people go, ‘Why are you fighting them YouTubers?’, ‘Why are you doing this?’, ‘Why are you doing that?’. If you were in my position, you would not turn it down. It’s the same with Love Island. I’m just trying to better myself and my career and secure my future in everything that I do. Why hate on another man for that?
MH: Tell me about your physical journey. You come from, I think it’s fair to say, a fairly good pedigree of fighters. Were you always physically capable, fit, strong? Did it come naturally to you?
TF: No, it definitely didn’t come naturally to me. I’m still not the greatest boxer out there. I had to work very, very hard. Because I lacked in talent, maybe I had to work extra hard. I had to get up at four o’clock in the morning and start running. I’d get four buses in a day then walk three miles to the gym. I’ve had to take the knocks in sparring against much better people. I’ve sat in A&E by myself overnight because my jaw was killing me and I couldn’t eat. I’ve had all that. I’ve not just walked into boxing because my older brother’s very successful.
MH: What does a day of training look like for you at the moment?
TF: At the moment, training’s pretty hectic. I’ve had such a long layoff. I’m trying to get as fit as I can, as strong as I can. So right now I’m basically doing everything I can. I’m running, I’m swimming, I’m doing weights, I’m boxing, I’m doing circuits – whatever I can get my hands on. I’m eating the right foods and drinking the right drinks and getting the right sleep. Everything’s dialled in at the minute.
MH: Going back a few years, your career was flying and even some of the most ardent internet critics were coming around to the idea of Tommy Fury as an athlete first. Then you got injured. Talk to me about how that affected you.
TF: I snapped all the ligaments in my hand and I had to have reconstructive surgery. I was fighting for the next three years effectively with a broken knuckle in the middle. I used to put cortisone in there to numb my hand to get through training, to get through the fights. It was tough, but I just couldn’t afford the time out. I didn’t want to sit out for a year. I got to a point in the last fight where I couldn’t carry on anymore and I had to get the surgery. They told me it would be 10 months off at least.
2023 was the best year that I’ve ever had. I won two multimillion pound fights. I got engaged, I had a beautiful baby daughter, the lot. And then, all of a sudden, I was in a hospital bed being told that boxing might not be a thing for me anymore. Going from that [high] to that [low] – lying on the hospital bed knowing that I couldn’t fight, couldn’t train, couldn’t lift weights, couldn’t do any of that – [meant] my mental health was in the pan. Really bad.
But I’m not really a guy to cry. I bottle a lot of things up. So nobody knew.
I tried doing three-mile walks and stuff, but when you train as intensely as I do, it’s just not the same feeling. And I thought, what can I do now? I couldn’t even shower properly, couldn’t even wash myself.
Watch the full interview on the Men’s Health Podcast, or listen via podcast platforms
MH: A large part of who you are is tied up in boxing, in what you can do physically. Did you feel like you’d suddenly had a big part of your identity snatched away from you?
TF: Oh, it was gone. I prided myself on being an athlete, being in shape and training and doing all this sort of stuff. But it was gone. Then the diet goes out the window, you start gaining more weight, you look in the mirror, you’re not how you used to look. I thought, well what can I do? I can sit at a table and have a drink. I can do that. I’ve got one hand for that.
I’ve only lived for training and my family, and that was all snatched away from me. So what I did for fun is I started to drink quite a lot. I found that’s what made me feel better. When I didn’t drink, I’d just look at my hand and think, I might never be able to box again.
I just wanted to feel somewhat happy. I’d go out and just drink and drink and drink. It went on that way for a long time. I said no to a lot of work because I wasn’t in the right headspace and started drinking more heavily, that’s what really got a grip on me.
MH: Were you trying to replace something that you previously got from training and boxing?
TF: I wanted the endorphins that I’d get when I’d finish a good session, when I’d finish sparring, when I’d finish fighting. But I just couldn’t get them. A few months prior to that, I was walking out in front of 30,000 people screaming, winning fights. So to go from that to sitting in a bed all day and watching TV, that’s hard to do.
It’s not like I’d get up in the morning and start drinking, but rather than sit in bed all day and fester, I’d think, why not go out? Where I’d normally be in camp, I’d just be smashing Guinness left, right and centre, then later on in the night shots would come out. Most nights I would to drink to get black-out drunk. I think that’s what really took its toll on me.
But being a father, I didn’t care how bad I felt in the morning or how rough I was, I’d be up at quarter past seven, waking the baby up, giving her a breakfast, making her breakfast, taking her to soft play, taking her to swimming, taking her to baby ballet. It was still very important for me while I was going through this stage to be like, okay, I want everything to be the same in her life. I was big on keeping her routine the same. That’s why nobody really clocked on, because during the day the normality was still there.
The circumstances were very tough, but I don’t feel sorry for myself anymore. There are millions of people going through it and some are a lot worse off. So it’s like, what am I crying about? That’s what I’ve really been thinking about. My circumstances are not even worth talking about compared to some.
MH: Interestingly, Tyson is very well known as a mental health advocate and he talks about these things openly. But while we always say we should be mindful of people’s mental states – we don’t always know what’s going on in people’s lives – do you feel like this courtesy isn’t extended to you because you’ve been on a reality TV show?
TF: It does feel like those rules don’t apply me. With my breakup with Molly, there’s been so much shit in the papers every single day for the past six months, but if it’s not come from my mouth or Molly’s mouth, it’s complete and utter bullshit.
All I’ve been seeing for the past six months is ‘Cheater!’, ‘He slept with me!’, ‘He slept with this girl, he slept with that girl!’ Complete and utter bollocks. We broke up because I had a problem with alcohol and I couldn’t be the partner that I wanted to be anymore. It kills me to say it, but I couldn’t. I loved a pint of beer, loved to drink.
People go through different things in life. I’m 25 years old. I went through a lot and my breakup was in front of the whole world. It was talked about on Good MorningBritain and I’ve received so much hate for it. The most upsetting thing is that not once did anyone say, ‘Oh, he might be going through something a bit more serious. He might be in a bad spot.’ Not one person said that.
Cheating was never a thing. You can ask Molly this yourself. It was the drink, and the drink is not a good thing. You need to get a grip of it. If you’re in the same spot as me, where you just think that it’s going to cure all your problems, it doesn’t. You wake up even worse and you want to drink more to try and feel happy again. That’s the cycle of it.
I’ve got myself out of that now, but I just wish people would’ve taken some time out, rather than giving me so much shit every day, to think maybe there was more going on. Not once did anyone ask how I was. I checked my inbox. Millions of messages in there, all negative: ‘Do this…’ or ‘Do that…’ to yourself, but not once did anyone take any time out to try and help me.
I’m not looking for sympathy. Whether I do the right thing or do the wrong thing, people are still going to hate me. As long as my family loves me. I just want to do my fights, earn my money, and look after my daughter.
I’m going to get back in the ring real soon and I’m going to pick up where I left off. I’m ready to do that now. I’ve wasted a year already in my life and I’m ready to pick back up and have a great 2025.
Losing your identity and letting alcohol ruin your relationship is a common struggle that many people face. It can be a heartbreaking experience that leaves you feeling lost and alone.
I never thought that alcohol would have such a powerful grip on my life. I used to be a confident, outgoing person who valued my relationships and cherished my sense of self. But somewhere along the way, I lost sight of who I was and let alcohol take control.
As I spiraled deeper into addiction, I became a shell of my former self. I pushed away the people who loved me, including my partner. I couldn’t see past the bottle in front of me, and it clouded my judgment and clouded my ability to see the damage I was causing.
I let my addiction destroy the trust and love that once held my relationship together. I became unreliable, unpredictable, and distant. I lost my sense of self-respect and self-worth, and it reflected in how I treated my partner.
But through the pain and heartache, I realized that I needed to make a change. I sought help for my addiction and began the long road to recovery. I had to confront my demons and rebuild my sense of identity from the ground up.
It wasn’t easy, and there were many setbacks along the way. But with the support of my loved ones and the guidance of professionals, I started to reclaim my sense of self. I learned to love myself again and to prioritize my mental and emotional well-being.
Slowly but surely, I began to repair the damage I had done to my relationship. I apologized for my past mistakes and worked hard to rebuild trust and communication with my partner. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it.
Today, I am proud to say that I have regained my identity and my relationship is stronger than ever. I have learned to prioritize my health and well-being, and to never let alcohol control my life again.
If you are struggling with addiction and feel like you have lost your sense of self, know that there is hope. Reach out for help, seek support, and know that you are not alone. You deserve to reclaim your identity and rebuild your relationships, one step at a time.
Attention all mystery lovers! The latest installment in the beloved Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito series by Anne Hillerman is finally here. Lost Birds takes readers on another thrilling adventure with Navajo Tribal Police officers Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee, and Bernie Manuelito as they investigate a puzzling case involving missing birds.
As the trio delves into the disappearance of rare bird species from a wildlife sanctuary, they uncover a web of deceit and danger that threatens not only the birds, but also the delicate balance of the natural world. With Hillerman’s signature blend of intricate plotting, rich cultural details, and vivid landscapes, Lost Birds promises to be another gripping and thought-provoking read.
Don’t miss out on this latest addition to the Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito series. Pick up your copy of Lost Birds today and immerse yourself in the captivating world of Navajo mystery and intrigue. Happy reading!
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The Meridian Five & the Lost Legion: Part 1/3: Volume 1
In the world of Aetheria, where magic and technology intertwine, a group of five extraordinary individuals known as the Meridian Five are tasked with protecting the realm from threats both within and without. Each member of the group possesses unique abilities and skills that make them formidable warriors in their own right.
But when a powerful ancient artifact, the Key of Elysium, goes missing, the Meridian Five must embark on a perilous journey to retrieve it before it falls into the wrong hands. Little do they know, however, that they are not the only ones seeking the Key.
A rival group known as the Lost Legion, led by the enigmatic and ruthless General Vex, are also on the hunt for the artifact, believing it holds the key to unlocking a dark and destructive power that could bring about the end of Aetheria as they know it.
As the Meridian Five race against time to find the Key of Elysium, they must also navigate treacherous landscapes, face deadly foes, and uncover long-buried secrets that could change the course of history forever.
Join us in this epic tale of adventure, betrayal, and redemption as the Meridian Five and the Lost Legion clash in a battle for the fate of Aetheria. Stay tuned for Part 2/3: Volume 2, coming soon.
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A family vowing to rebuild after losing nine homes in the California wildfires received a surprise donation Friday on “Good Morning America.”
The Jenkins family of Altadena, California, will receive a $135,000 overall donation from the nonprofit Global Empowerment Mission, which is dedicated to helping people in disaster zones get back on their feet, and their partners, Bethenny Frankel’s BStrong and Stable Road Foundation.
The Jenkins family open up on “Good Morning America” about losing their nine homes in Altadena, Calif. and their commitment to rebuilding after the Eaton Fire.
ABC News
“It’s a small step, but trust … everyone is doing what they can all throughout the world to support everyone here,” Global Empowerment Mission spokesperson Michael Capponi told the Jenkins family.
The Jenkins family says the donation will help bring their family closer and help with immediate housing needs.
“We’ve got family scattered from here to Orange County [and] Arizona,” said Ed Broussard, one of the family’s cousins. “Thank you.”
The Jenkins family open up on “Good Morning America” about losing their nine homes in Altadena, Calif. and their commitment to rebuilding after the Eaton Fire.
ABC News
Broussard and his extended family previously all lived within a 2-mile radius of each other in Altadena for generations. They lost everything last week as the Eaton Fire roared through the town.
Four of the sisters in the Jenkins family lost their homes. In one sister’s home, as Broussard and his cousins Will Chandler and Marcus Betts showed “GMA,” there were only charred party chairs and tables left.
The Jenkins family open up on “Good Morning America” about losing their nine homes in Altadena, Calif. and their commitment to rebuilding after the Eaton Fire.
ABC News
“They have the party chairs and tables over here from when we would get together, do game night. My aunt Paula, that was her thing — game night,” Betts said.
“It’s a lotta legacy that we wanna hold onto. We don’t want that to go with the houses, and so we need to be here to make sure the legacy stays here,” Betts added.
Damage to structures is seen from hilltop perspective in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire, Jan. 10, 2025 in Altadena, Calif.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Betts, Broussard and Chandler say they’re committed to helping build back Altadena and their families’ homes.
“We’re rebuilding. I’m not going anywhere. I don’t care who it is. My family, we are staying,” Broussard said. “We got electricians in the family. We got carpenters in the family. We’re rebuilding.”
The historic area of Altadena, one of the first areas in the U.S. where Black and brown people were allowed to buy real estate, is one of the many communities completely leveled by the devastating Los Angeles area wildfires.
The Eaton Fire, which first started on Jan. 7, is now 65% contained but has burned over 7,000 structures and at least 14,000 acres so far. Firefighters continue to battle the Eaton Fire as well as the Palisades Fire, also in Los Angeles County, and the Auto Fire in Ventura County. About 82,000 people are still under evacuation orders and about 90,000 are under evacuation warnings.
Before the wildfires, Altadena was home to about 42,000 and known for its picturesque landscape in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.
The recent Eaton Fire in California left a devastating impact on one family who lost a total of 9 homes in the blaze. Despite the overwhelming loss, the family is vowing to rebuild and start anew.
The fire, which spread rapidly through the area, destroyed everything in its path, including the family’s homes, belongings, and memories. In the midst of the destruction, the family has found strength and resolve to come together and rebuild what was lost.
“We may have lost our homes, but we have not lost hope,” said one family member. “We are determined to rebuild and create new memories in a place that has brought us so much joy over the years.”
With the support of their community and loved ones, the family is already taking steps towards rebuilding their lives. They have started the process of clearing debris, assessing the damage, and making plans for the future.
“We know it will be a long and difficult road ahead, but we are committed to rebuilding and creating a new beginning for our family,” said another family member. “We are grateful for the outpouring of support and kindness we have received during this challenging time.”
As they face the daunting task of rebuilding 9 homes from the ground up, the family remains hopeful and determined to overcome this tragedy. Their strength and resilience serve as a reminder of the power of family, community, and the human spirit in times of adversity.
Wildfires in Los Angeles raged through the star-studded Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
Paris Hilton, Miles Teller, and Anthony Hopkins were among the celebrities who lost their homes.
The average house price in the northern LA area is around $4.5 million.
The biggest of the wildfires in Los Angeles has been burning the Pacific Palisades neighborhood for over a week, razing one of the nation’s most prosperous neighborhoods.
Stars including Paris Hilton, Milo Ventimiglia, Billy Crystal, Mel Gibson, Miles Teller, and Anthony Hopkins, have lost their homes.
The area, between Santa Monica and Malibu in northern Los Angeles, is home to some of the country’s most expensive real estate. The average house price is about $4.5 million, according to Realtor.com data.
Much of it has been on fire since January 7, when a small blaze in the neighborhood exploded to engulf many thousands of acres, prompting evacuation orders for tens of thousands.
As of Tuesday evening the Palisades Fire had burned some 24,000 acres. It was 18% contained, according to Cal Fire.
Bella Hadid said her childhood home was destroyed
Bella Hadid posted a photo on her Instagram story on January 10 showing her childhood Malibu home in flames.
She wrote: “Thanks to everyone reaching out. The memories we made in this house, the love my mama put into building it, the family times, the stories, the friends, the love. I will miss you 3903 carbon canyon rd.”
The house was originally owned by Yolanda Hadid, the model’s mother, and was featured in “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.” People reported that it was sold for $19.5 million in 2015.
Bella Hadid shared the image of her childhood home burning on Instagram.Instagram
Milo Ventimiglia of ‘Heroes’ watched his home burn down on security cameras
Milo Ventimiglia, known for starring in “This is Us” and “Heroes,” watched his home in Malibu burn via security cameras with Jarah Ventimiglia, his wife, who is nine months pregnant.
Speaking near his home on January 9, he described watching his house burn down to CBS: “I think there’s a kind of shock moment where you’re going, ‘Oh, this is real, and this is happening.’ And then, at a certain point, we just turned it off. What good is it to continue watching? We kind of accepted the loss.”
Bryan Greenberg confirmed on Instagram that he and Jamie Chung, his wife, lost their house
Actors Bryan Greenberg and Jamie Chung, who are married, confirmed on January 9 that their home had burned down but that their family was safe.
Greenberg shared a photo of the wreckage on his Instagram story, writing: “It was all a dream. Thankfully the family is safe. Thank you to all of the firefighters risking their lives. Stay safe out there.”
Mel Gibson said his house burned down while he was away recording ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’
Mel Gibson told NewsNation on January 9, that he learned about the fires in his Malibu neighborhood while recording an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” in Texas.
He said: “I was doing the Rogan podcast, and kind of ill at ease while we were talking, because I knew my neighborhood was on fire, so I thought, I wonder if my place is still there. But when I got home, sure enough, it wasn’t there.”
Gibson added: “Obviously, it’s kind of devastating. It’s emotional. You live there for a long time, and you had all your stuff. “
Paris Hilton said she ‘built precious memories’ at her destroyed Malibu home
On January 8, Paris Hilton shared on Instagram that she was “heartbroken beyond words” to learn that her Malibu home had been destroyed in the fire.
“Sitting with my family, watching the news, and seeing our home in Malibu burn to the ground on live TV is something no one should ever have to experience,” Hilton wrote. Although the loss felt “overwhelming,” she said she was grateful that her family and pets were safe.
Hilton returned to her home on January 9 and posted a video of the wreckage on Instagram.
In the caption, she said: “The heartbreak is truly indescribable.”
Miles Teller and his wife evacuated before the flames consumed their property
Miles Teller, a star of “Top Gun: Maverick,” also lost his home. His wife, Keleigh Teller, shared on Instagram on January 10 that the couple’s Pacific Palisades home was destroyed.
Alongside a series of photos — one showing the remains of their home — she wrote: “I wish I grabbed my wedding dress.”
“Wish I did a lot different but it doesn’t matter, stay safe, get out,” she added.
The home of Jennifer Grey, the ‘Dirty Dancing’ star ‘burnt to the ground’
Stella Gregg, Jennifer Grey’s daughter, told followers on her Instagram Story on January 8 that her mother’s home “burnt to the ground,” but confirmed that the actor and her dog were safe.
On January 10, Gregg posted: “Was lucky enough to call Samoa my home for a bit. Thank you mama for making it what it was and allowing me to make such beautiful memories there. Home isn’t walls and frames. Home is family. Stay safe. Hug your loved ones. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.”
Joan Rivers’s daughter says she saved her mom’s Emmy
Melissa Rivers, the daughter of late actor and comedian Joan Rivers, said her home burned down in an Instagram post on January 8.
“My family and I have safely evacuated, and we are deeply grateful to be unharmed,” she wrote. Rivers also shared more details about her evacuation in an interview with CNN, and urged others to be prepared.
“To be 100% honest, I grabbed my mom’s Emmy, a photo of my dad, and a drawing that my mother had done of me and my son,” she said.
Billy Crystal’s home, where he’d lived with his family for 46 years, was burned to the ground
“We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can’t be taken away. We are heartbroken of course but with the love of our children and friends we will get through this,” Crystal said in a statement to Business Insider.
“The Pacific Palisades is a resilient community of amazing people and we know in time it will rise again. It is our home,” he said.
Beyoncé’s mom, Tina Knowles, said her Malibu bungalow was destroyed in the fires
Tina Knowles said in a post on Instagram that her coastal Malibu bungalow had been burned down in one of the blazes.
“It was my favorite place, my sanctuary, my sacred Happy Place. Now it is gone,” she wrote.
Knowles, who is also mom to singer Solange Knowles, went on to thank the “brave men and women in our fire department who risked their lives in dangerous conditions.”
“This could have been so much worse without the dedication of the disaster workers and first responders,” she added.
Cary Elwes said he and his family evacuated the area safely, but said their house was destroyed
On January 8, “The Princess Bride” actor wrote: “Sadly we did lose our home but we are grateful to have survived this truly devastating fire.”
Ricki Lake said that she escaped from her house with her dog and ‘not much else’
Ricki Lake, the star of the original “Hairspray” movie and her self-titled talk show, wrote in an Instagram post on January 8 that her “dream home” overlooking Malibu was “gone.”
In the caption, Lake said she and her husband escaped from the house with Dolly, their dog, “and not much else.”
He said on Instagram that he had left his Malibu home on January 7 with his wife, Marilou, and their dog, Trixie. He described it as the “most horrific fire since ’93.”
On January 12, he thanked Instagram followers for their concern and said that his home “amazingly” survived.
Jamie Lee Curtis said ‘many’ friends lost their homes
On January 8, “Halloween” actor Jamie Lee Curtis appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and said, holding back tears: “Where I live is on fire right now.”
She added: “It’s just a catastrophe in Southern California. Obviously, there have been horrific fires in many places. This is literally where I live. Everything — the market I shop in, the schools my kids go to, friends.
“Many, many, many, many, many friends now have lost their homes.”
Kate Beckinsale wrote in an Instagram post on January 8 that “the whole of the Palisades being destroyed is unthinkably horrific.
“My daughter and I lived there for most of her childhood and most of her childhood is gone.”
Haley Joel Osment thanked those who ‘helped as we lose our home’
On January 9, the actor Haley Joel Osment shared that he had lost his home to the Eaton fire in Altadena.
Osment is best known for childhood performances in movies like “The Sixth Sense” and “A.I. Artificial Intelligence.”
Writing on Instagram, he said: “My heart would be so full every time I drove home – it was such a special place – I loved living there – our forest and our mountains and our homes – all gone.”
Osment described losing ‘everything’ in Altadena.Haley Joel Osment/Instagram Stories
R&B singer Jhené Aiko said she lost her home and all her possessions
Aiko shared photos of her home on fire in a now-deleted Instagram post. In a separate Instagram post, she said she wanted to “let suffering be a gift, an act of compassion.”
“Me and my children’s home is gone, burned to the ground with all of our things inside” Aiko wrote on Instagram. “Lord have mercy. Thankful we still have each other. Starting from scratch. My heart is heavy.”
Beloved Hollywood stars like Anthony Hopkins, John Goodman, and Jeff Bridges also lost their homes
Photos obtained by People showed actors John Goodman, Anna Faris, and Anthony Hopkins lost their homes due to the fires.
On January 11, Hopkins appeared to confirm the reports on Instagram. He wrote: “As we all struggle to heal from the devastation of the fires, it’s important we remember that the only thing we take with us is the love we give.”
The home actor Jeff Bridges shared with his family in Malibu was also lost, the Associated Press reported.
TMZ meanwhile published footage of Adam Brody and Leighton Meester’s home in flames, as well as a photo of Anna Faris’ home in ashes.
“I’m so sad our house is gone. I wish I could have gone back and got more,” Montag said as she broke down crying in a video she posted on TikTok on January 8.
The songwriter Diane Warren, a 15-time Oscar nominee who has worked with stars like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, shared on Instagram that her beach house of nearly 30 years was likely gone.
“It looks like it was lost in the fire last nite. There’s a rainbow shining on it which I’m taking as a sign of hope for all creatures who have been affected by this tragedy,” Warren wrote.
Meanwhile, Eugene Levy said he got stuck while trying to leave his neighborhood on January 7.
“The smoke looked pretty black and intense over Temescal Canyon,” Levy told The Los Angeles Times. “I couldn’t see any flames but the smoke was very dark.”
According to photos obtained by People, the “Schitt’s Creek” star’s home was almost completely leveled by the following day, with only a stone chimney and a charred row of hedges left standing.
Chet Hanks, the son of actors Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, wrote in an Instagram story on January 7: “The neighborhood I grew up in is burning to the ground rn. Pray for the Palisades.”
Chet Hanks shared a message about the fire on Instagram.Chet Hanks/Instagram Stories
Joshua Jackson, Britney Spears, and Mandy Moore all spoke out about the devastation of losing their homes
“Dawson’s Creek” star Joshua Jackson‘s Topanga Canyon home also burned down in the blaze.
“First and most importantly, all the people closest to me affected by the fire are ok. My daughter, my family, my neighbors all made it out safely,” Jackson said in a statement to BI. “Sadly my beautiful home did not survive the fires. But today, I feel incredibly lucky to be surrounded by the people I love.”
Britney Spears told her Instagram followers on January 9 that she had evacuated her home.
The singer said that she had left her home in LA and was “driving 4 hours to a hotel.”
She added that she had been unable to charge her phone “the past two days” as she had no electricity.
Actor and singer Mandy Moore said in an Instagram story posted on January 7 that she was also among the residents ordered to evacuate. By January 8, the singer said in a follow-up story that she was unsure if her home “made it.”
She wrote in an Instagram post: “My children’s school is gone. Our favorite restaurants, leveled. So many friends and loved ones have lost everything too.”
Greg Wells, the music producer on the “Wicked” movie, told Variety on January 12 that he had a “state-of-the-art” studio in his home that was destroyed in the fire.
He said: “I just have to remind myself, it’s really down to the people and to the ideas, and none of that stuff makes a song better. So I’m not gonna let it define me.”
The recent wildfires in Los Angeles have left a devastating impact on the Pacific Palisades, a neighborhood known for its luxury homes and celebrity residents. Many stars have been affected by the destruction, losing their homes to the flames.
Among those who have lost their homes in the Pacific Palisades are actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, who reportedly owned a sprawling mansion in the area. Actress Kate Hudson also lost her home in the wildfires, as did singer-songwriter Pink and her husband Carey Hart.
Other celebrities who have been affected by the wildfires include director J.J. Abrams, actress Reese Witherspoon, and reality TV star Kim Kardashian. These stars are just a few of the many residents of the Pacific Palisades who have lost everything in the wake of the devastating fires.
Our thoughts are with all those who have been affected by the wildfires in Los Angeles, and we hope for a swift recovery for the residents of the Pacific Palisades.
Eva Lys’s (23) bags were packed and her flight booked. But now the German is into the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time after making the most of her second chance at the Australian Open.
The “lucky loser” defeated France’s Varvara Gracheva 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 on Thursday in the second round, falling onto her back on court after sealing victory.
“I don’t think I have any words to describe it yet,” Lys, who is ranked 128th in the world, said.
It has been a whirlwind few days for Ukraine-born Lys.
She lost in the final round of qualifying in Melbourne last week, her hopes of making the first major of the year seemingly over.
But she hung about on the off-chance that another player would drop out and 13th seed Anna Kalinskaya did just that on Tuesday, suddenly giving Lys another Australian Open life.
She duly defeated home player Kimberly Birrell in straight sets in the first round of the main draw.
“I found out about it 10 minutes before the match so I didn’t have time to get nervous,” Lys, who lost in the first round at the Australian Open two years ago, said.
A “lucky loser” is a player who loses in qualifying but later gets a ticket into the main draw following another player’s withdrawal, usually because of illness or injury.
“I was panicking a little bit because I didn’t really prepare my drinks,” said Lys, who was born in Kyiv and moved to Germany with her family when she was two years old.
“I didn’t have match clothes on so I went to the locker room, got changed straight away, and then they called my name.
“So no warm-up, no anything. Maybe that’s the key for the next match.”
Eva Lys, the up-and-coming tennis player from France, found herself lost for words after making the most of her second chance at the Australian Open. Lys, who had initially lost in the qualifying rounds, was given a lucky loser spot in the main draw and made the most of it by advancing to the fourth round.
In a post-match interview, Lys struggled to articulate her feelings, saying, “I am just so grateful for this opportunity and I am trying to make the most of it. I am speechless, I can’t believe I am here.”
Lys’s remarkable run at the Australian Open has captured the attention of tennis fans around the world, and she is now considered a dark horse in the tournament. With each match, Lys is proving that she belongs among the elite players in the game.
As she continues her journey at the Australian Open, one thing is clear: Eva Lys is a force to be reckoned with, and her inspiring story is one that will be remembered for years to come.
A series of wildfires has devastated swaths of Southern California, causing thousands of residents to have to flee their homes as it rapidly engulfs large parts of the Los Angeles area.
The first fire started in Pacific Palisades on Tuesday, Jan. 7. Videos show devastation in the seaside community; as Pacific Palisades resident Maria Shriver wrote on Instagram, “Heartbreaking, devastating, beyond belief. Everything is gone. Our neighborhood, our restaurants. All our friends have lost everything.”
The Eaton Fire (also called the Close Fire) followed, sparking around 6:30 pm Tuesday; by late Wednesday morning, it had exploded to 10,000 acres across Pasadena and Altadena. By 6:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8, the Woodley Fire was ablaze, seizing 75 acres in its wake.
Northward of that, the Hurst Fire, which grew to about 500 acres in size, sparked around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday and was still going around 5 a.m. on Wednesday. A fifth blaze, the Tyler Fire, sparked west of L.A. near Coachella and was 50 percent contained at the time of this writing.
On Thursday, a new fire, the Kenneth Fire, was being investigated as arson and was growing rapidly.
See what stars have said about their personal connection to the horrifying disaster.
Sarah Wright Olsen and Eric Christian Olsen
FilmMagic; Sarah Wright Olsen/Instagram
Actors and married couple Sarah Wright Olsen and Eric Christian Olsen lost the Malibu home where they lived with their three children, she wrote on Instagram.
“It’s impossible to put into words these last few days. We are together and safe and surrounded by love,” she began. “We lost our home. It was one of the first areas to go. Our kids have said ‘we all took our first steps there’.”
“I’m devastated, man. I’m devastated. All the memories. I don’t want my family to see this,” he said. “Boy, obviously you’ve seen a lot of coverage on television over the last few days, and I never imagined this. I didn’t imagine this.”
Nicole Lapin
Getty Images for The Podcast Academy/The Ambies; Nicole Lapin/Instagram
Former CNBC anchor and Money Rehab podcast host Nicole Lapinposted a video with her three-week-old baby sharing video of her destroyed home.
“I am completely delirious, haven’t slept since last week and so emotional postpartum so I’m going to for sure cry if I start to think of the outpouring of help and support we’ve gotten,” she said after reflecting on the loss. “I just truly didn’t know how many people cared about me—us—and our wellbeing. Grateful, thankful, what’s something infinitely stronger than that?! That’s what I feel.”
“We’re left with nothing except each other. My friend Jane Seymour allowed us to come over to her house and opened it up for us without any hesitation and thank God gave us someplace to come and sleep,” he wrote on Instagram. “If it was just us, if it was just us, I’d be really okay with this. But it’s everybody. It’s everything. I’m just devastated and heartbroken for everybody. All the people we know.”
“Welcoming Joe and his family into our home while they try to make sense of the inexplicable is just what you do for family, and the Landos are our family,” Seymour said, per TVLine.
Joshua Jackson
Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty
“First and most importantly, all the people closest to me affected by the fire are OK,” actor Joshua Jackson said in statement Jan. 12. “My daughter, my family, my neighbors all made it out safely. Sadly my beautiful home did not survive the fires. But today, I feel incredibly lucky to be surrounded by the people I love.”
Sarah Levy
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic; Sarah Levy/Instagram
“Oh, my sweet home. My heart so deeply aches,” Sarah Levy, the Schitt’s Creek actress and daughter of Eugene Levy, wrote on an Instagram post memorializing her lost home. “What I would give to hear the key slide in the front door one more time or the baby gate click behind me as I bring the laundry upstairs. To hear the garbage truck outside every Tuesday and watch James run to the window to watch. To smell the eucalyptus and the roses and the rosemary.”
Bryan Greenberg and Jamie Chung
MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty; Bryan Greenberg/Instagram
“It was all a dream,” he wrote on an image of what remained of their home. “Thankfully the family is safe. Thank you to all of the firefighters risking their lives. Stay safe out there.”
On Friday, Keleigh addressed the loss with the last photo she took of their home standing, writing, “Pacific palisades I love you beyond measure you are a little slice of heaven, we will come back stronger than ever. If you’re in the LA area PLEASE get out if you can. I wish I grabbed my wedding dress .. wish I did a lot different but it doesn’t matter, stay safe, get out. there are no words.”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty; TheImageDirect.com
Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ home in the Palisades was demolished, photos confirm. Reps did not immediately return a request for comment.
John C. Reilly
Araya Doheny/FilmMagic; SPOT-Stoianov-BUFR/BACKGRID
Actor John C. Reilly’s home was destroyed in the fire, photos confirm. His manager did not immediately return a request for comment.
“Sitting with my family, watching the news, and seeing our home in Malibu burn to the ground on live TV is something no one should ever have to experience,” she wrote, in part. “This home was where we built so many precious memories. … It’s where Phoenix took his first steps and where we dreamed of building a lifetime of memories with London. … While the loss is overwhelming, I’m holding onto gratitude that my family is safe. My heart and prayers are going out to every family affected by these fires.”
On Thursday, Paris toured the remains of her home and shared a video with followers, along with a long caption reflecting on the “indescribable heartbreak” of “seeing it reduced to ashes.”
Anthony Hopkins
David Livingston/Getty; BACKGRID
Photos show that legendary actor Anthony Hopkins, who turned 87 at the end of 2024, lost his Pacific Palisades home, the apparent location where he often posted videos on his popular TikTok playing the piano or getting ready for the Oscars. According to the Daily Mail, he moved there in 2021 several years after his Malibu home was narrowly spared from the Woolsey fire in 2018; he also previously lost his home in London to fire in 2000. A rep did not respond to a request for comment, but on Friday, Hopkins posted a short note to Instagram, saying “As we all struggle to heal from the devastation of these fires, it’s important we remember that the only thing we take with us is the love we give.”
Tina Knowles
Jamie McCarthy/WireImage
The mother of Beyoncé and Solange Knowles, Tina Knowles, shared to Instagram that her home was lost. “It was my favorite place, my sanctuary, my sacred Happy Place . Now it is gone !! God Bless all the brave men and women in our fire department who risked their lives in dangerous conditions,” she said. “We thank you for your dedication and bravery and for saving so many lives . This could have been so much worse with out the dedication of the disaster workers and first responders.”
Adam Brody and Leighton Meester
Frazer Harrison/Getty
The couple, who have been married for 10 years, lost the Pacific Palisades home they share with their two children, photos confirm (below). Reps did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
SPOT-Stoianov-BUFR/BACKGRID
Cobie Smulders and Taran Killam
Cobie Smulders and Taran Killam arrive at the Los Angeles Premiere Marvel’s “Avengers Age Of Ultron” on April 13, 2015 in Hollywood, California.
Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
Cobie Smulders and Taran Killam’s home in Pacific Palisades, where they lived with their two daughters, was destroyed by fire, photos show. Reps did not return a request for comment.
Ricki Lake is among those mourning the loss of their homes.
“It’s all gone. I can’t believe I am typing these words. After a valiant and brave effort by our friend and hero @kirbykotler_ Ross and I lost our dream home,” she wrote in a heartfelt caption accompanied by a carousel of pictures she took in happier times.
“This description ‘dream home’ doesn’t suffice. It was our heaven on earth. The place where we planned to grow old together. We never took our heavenly spot on the bluff overlooking our beloved malibu for granted, not even for one second. I shared our sunset views almost daily with all of you,” she continued.
She added, “This loss is immeasurable. It’s the spot where we got married 3 years ago. I grief along with all of those suffering during this apocalyptic event. Praying for all of my neighbors, my friends, my community, the animals, the firefighters and first responders. More to share soon of how we escaped with Dolly and not much else. For now I grieve. ”
The Malibu home that Jeff Bridges shared with his family was destroyed, PEOPLE confirms. According to TMZ, Bridges, his sister and their brother Beau had inherited it together.
John Goodman
TheImageDirect.com; Arnold Jerocki/WireImage
John Goodman’s Pacific Palisades home was demolished in the fire, photos show. Reps did not return a request for comment.
Mel Gibson
VALERIE MACON / AFP; MEGA
Mel Gibson confirmed that his home had burned down while he was filming in Austin, though everyone at home safely evacuated — and his chickens survived.
“Obviously, it’s kind of devastating. It’s emotional,” Gibson said on NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas Reports Thursday. “You live there for a long time, and you had all your stuff … Everything from photographs to files to just personal things that I had from over the years, and clothing. Pretty cool stuff, but you know, that can all be replaced. These are only things. The good news is that those in my family and those I love are all well, and we’re all happy and healthy and out of harm’s way, that’s all I can care about, really.”
Barbara Corcoran
Tony Rivetti via Getty; Barbara Corcoran/Instagram
Shark Tank star and real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran shared on Instagram that her home in the Tahitian Terrace mobile home complex in Malibu had been lost.
“For the past five years, I’ve been privileged to have a home in this tight-knit, loving community,” she wrote. “My heart breaks again and again as I see these incredible people who built their lives here for decades, many of them seniors who poured their hearts and life-savings into their trailers, left with absolutely nothing.”
“Words cannot describe the enormity of the devastation we are witnessing and experiencing. We ache for our friends and neighbors who have also lost their homes and businesses in this tragedy. Janice and I lived in our home since 1979. We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can’t be taken away. We are heartbroken of course but with the love of our children and friends we will get through this.
We pray for the safety of the fire fighters and first responders. The Pacific Palisades is a resilient community of amazing people and we know in time it will rise again. It is our home.”
Jennifer Grey
Jennifer Grey.
Amy Sussman/Getty ; stellagregg/Instagram
Jennifer Grey‘s daughter Stella Gregg announced on her Instagram Stories that the Dirty Dancing actress’s home was “burnt to the ground.” She assured followers her mom and her dog Winnie were safe and encouraged everyone to “give your loved ones an extra squeeze today.”
Grey later posted a photo of the destruction, writing, “This feels like one messed up dream. But it’s not a dream. It’s one of those things where life suddenly jumps a track and you’re propelled into a different story. I am trying to allow myself to feel the waves of shock, the startling grief, the sudden unavoidable new now that I never wanted.”
Eugene Levy
Jeremychanphotography/Getty; BACKGRID
Schitt’s Creekstar Eugene Levy, 78, told the L.A. Times that he’d found himself “stuck” by “black and intense” smoke over Temescal Canyon as he tried to leave his home. “I couldn’t see any flames but the smoke was very dark,” the actor added.
His son, Dan Levy, posted to Instagram Stories, “Heartbroken for my family, my friends and the people of L.A. affected by these catastrophic fires.”
Photos later confirmed the home had been destroyed.
Harvey Guillen
Kevin Mazur/Getty; Harvey Guillen/Instagram
“We will rebuild ….. we will do it one day at a time,” actor Harvey Guillen wrote along with a video showing the remains of his home. “Thank you to my siblings and friends who came to help me and my neighbors pick up the pieces of what is left.”
Bozoma Saint John
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Bozoma Saint John confirmed on Instagram that her home had burned, sharing a carousel of photos and videos of herself and daughter Lael in happier times in the home.
“This was my EFF YOU I’m here house,” she wrote in part. “This is the house where I finally felt like I could choose to spend time… when I wanted to and how I wanted to. It is gone. This is an unimaginable loss. I grieve with the rest of Los Angeles as it burns.”
Soap star Cameron Mathison shared a video of the remains of his home in a heartbreaking video posted to Instagram. “We are safe But this is what’s left of our beautiful home. Our home where our kids were raised and where they wanted to raise their own someday,” he wrote under the post.
“Thanks to all who reached out and checked in. Can’t respond to all so wanted to give an update here,” he added. “Sending so many prayers to everyone being affected by these fires”
Celebrity chef Molly Baz posted to Instagram indicating that she lost her home, sharing “the last photo I took before we lost it all,” a shot of son Gio eating by candlelight during the power outage. “We’ll recover someday. Thank you to the village.”
She reflected on their loss in a newsletter days later, saying she “experienced a broader and deeper range of emotions than I knew was possible” in the days since losing her family home.
“I am grateful for that. In some moments I am able to see the value and the lessons in this loss. In others, I see darkness,” she wrote.
Interior designer and former HGTV star Leanne Ford shared that she and her husband Erik had just gotten the keys to a new home in Rustic Canyon three weeks ago, only to see it burn down during the fires this week.
“I’ve been praying hard for ‘the peace that passes understanding’ through this — for everyone,” she wrote in part.
Pete Lee
Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty
Comedian Pete Lee was in New York ahead of his appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and watched his home burn on live TV. He spoke about the experience while on the show Thursday.
“The anchor was in front of my house. And he’s like, ‘Some people are finding out right now that their home is burning by watching this broadcast.’ And I’m watching it with a friend, I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s me. That’s my house,” Lee said.
“We’re just one of so many families who are grieving in LA right now,” he said. “My heart goes out to everyone affected. I’m so grateful that we’re safe, and we will get through this.”
Madlib
Los Angeles Times via Getty; Redferns via Getty
Music producer Madlib’s team posted a shot of his home and requested help. “We are reaching out with heavy hearts to ask for your support in helping legendary producer Madlib and his family after losing their home, decades of music, and equipment in the devastating LA fires,” it said.
Candy Spelling
Michael Tullberg/Getty
Candy Spelling (mom to Tori and widow of late legendary TV producer Aaron) lost the Malibu beachfront home that she owned for 50 years, she confirmed to TMZ. Though she had put it up for sale several times recently, she had taken it off the market and said to the outlet, “I’m in shock and processing this massive loss for our family. I am beyond grateful for the memories. It was truly a wonderful gift to have.”
Diane Warren
Diane Warren revealed she lost her home of 30 years.
“This is the last pic I took of Leah’s rock from my beach house,” she wrote, referencing her late friend Leah, who died 10 years ago.
“I’ve had this house for almost 30 years. It looks like it was lost in the fire last nite,” she continued. Still, Warren is choosing to be hopeful as she alerted followers that the animals at her rescue ranch were unharmed.
“There’s a rainbow shining on it which I’m taking as a sign of hope for all creatures who have been affected by this tragedy. The animals and the rescue ranch are OK tho which is the most important thing. Stay safe everyone.”
Jhene Aiko
Stefanie Keenan/Getty
Jhene Aiko posted to Instagram that her home had been destroyed. “Me and my children’s home is gone, burned to the ground with all of our things inside. Lord have mercy,” she wrote in part.
She later posted a photo of the home on fire, “I worked very hard … for many years, through a lot of pain … to provide my children with this house,” the songwriter wrote. “I put everything into it. Praying none of you ever experience this.”
Denise Crosby
Denise Crosby.
Albert L. Ortega/Getty
Star Trek actress Denise Crosby posted a photo of the “ashes” of her home, writing, “Yesterday morning I had a beautiful Spanish cottage that gave me endless joy, where I met my husband and raised my son, the only house I’ve ever owned, with fruit trees I grew, with a garden of native plants. Now, ashes. I am heartbroken.”
Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag
In a harrowing video posted on TikTok, former Hills star Spencer Pratt revealed his home was among those burned down.
“Nightmare came true,” the father of two captioned the video.
His wife Heidi Montag posted a follow-up TikTok in which she confirmed the loss of their home and thanked fans for prayers and thoughts . “Thank God we are safe … it’s just … no words.”
“The one positive sign i saw as our house burned down was our son’s bed burned in the shape of a heart,” he captioned the post. “A sign of how much love was in this house so thankful for all the years and memories there with our family.”
Maeve Reilly
Araya Doheny/Getty; Maeve Reilly/Instagram
Celebrity stylist Maeve Reilly, who works with Eva Longoria and Coco Jones, posted Wednesday night that their house had burned down, and in their neighborhood, “everything is gone.” Shortly after, she shared that she had to drive to Beverly Hills to evacuate her in-laws. “This feels like a bad dream. Everything we own is in this truck,” she wrote on Instagram Stories.
Celebrity hairstylist and Ouai founder Jen Atkin posted photos to her Instagram stories of her emotional evacuation from her home with her family, including husband Mike Rosenthal and their dog.
“Our house is gone … It’s almost too much to comprehend. Our neighbors are all taking care of one another and checking in and that’s the theme for 2025,” she wrote on Instagram Stories. “We’re going to be ok. We always push thru. I’m just so sad I left my Grandma Atkin’s church blazer with her tissues and tictacs in the pockets.”
In a subsequent post, she showed the before and after of her home, saying, “I feel so grateful my family is together. I also feel scared and sad.”
JJ Reddick’s Family
JJ Redick and wife Chelsea Kilgore.
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
L.A. Lakers coach JJ Redick revealed that his family were “freaking out” as they were among those forced to evacuate their home amid the fires.
Ahead of the Lakers vs. Mavericks game in Dallas on Jan. 7, Redick sent his “thoughts and prayers to everyone in the Palisades right now,” adding, “that’s where I live.”
According to the AP,he noted, “Our family, my wife’s family, my wife’s twin sister, they’ve evacuated. I know a lot of people are freaking out right now, including my family.”
“Thoughts and prayers for sure, and hope everyone stays safe.”
Melissa Rivers called into CNN to confirm that she had lost her home. “My heart is so broken, not just for myself … it’s a town and it’s wiped off the map,” she said.
“That is the end of everything that belonged to my family and the history of it,” she said, referring to items she had that belonged to her late parents, comedy legend Joan Rivers and producer Edgar Rosenberg. “I grabbed my mom’s Emmy, a photo of my dad and a drawing my mother had done of me and my son. … I went for a drawing of hers, rather than a photo. I know I can find the photos, but a drawing I can’t replace.”
Cary Elwes
Doug Peters/Variety via Getty
Cary Elwes posted terrifying video of the “biblical” devastation he was passing as he evacuated his Malibu home.
On Wednesday, he shared an update that he and his family did lose their home, adding, “but we are grateful to have survived this truly devastating fire” and extending gratitude to the first responders and those sending well wishes.
“We are safe, our dogs are safe, and that’s all that matters,” she wrote; she added in a subsequent story that “my heart goes out for everyone in our community … I pray all the wildlife is safe, our rascally bobcat, our fierce mountain lion, the silly coyotes, waddling skunks, sleek foxes and singing birds.”
Mandy Moore is leaning on her loved ones as she and her family (and pets) were also forced to evacuate.
“Grateful for the kindness of friends that we had a place to land last night. Trying to shield the kids from the immense sadness and worry I feel. Praying for everyone in our beautiful city. So gutted for the destruction and loss. Don’t know if our place made it.”
“I’m in shock and feeling numb for all so many have lost, including my family. My children’s school is gone. Our favorite restaurants, leveled. So many friends and loved ones have lost everything too. Our community is broken but we will be here to rebuild together. Sending love to all affected and on the front lines trying to get this under control,” she wrote.
“Everyone we know lost everything. Every house on our street is gone. My in laws. My brother and sister in law- 6 weeks from welcoming their first baby,” she wrote. “Our best friends. Feeling weird survivors guilt.”
Sandra Lee
Sandra Lee says she had to evacuate her Malibu home as the blazing flames drew closer.
“My home in Malibu has got me through some of the darkest moments in my life. I have loved creating it, embellishing it, building it, caring for it, and protecting it. I’ve cherished every moment I have had with it,” she shared on Instagram on Jan. 7.
“As the fire draws closer, I pray for it—- I pray for everyone in Los Angeles right now. What an incredibly terrifying moment for my community. As the fire reaches our doorstep, please stay in contact with each other; Community in times like these is our lifeline.”
On January 8, she updated followers to say she’d heard conflicting things about whether her home was still standing. “Thank you to everyone who has reached out. I just don’t know. But this time reminds me of my grandmothers favorite ‘footprints in the Sand.’ It’s in gods hands,” she wrote.
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis revealed that though her house wasn’t affected, her entire neighborhood “is gone.”
“Our beloved neighborhood is gone. Our home is safe. So many others have lost everything. Help where you can. Thank you to the first responders and firefighters. @americanredcross.” (She also used her emotional appearance on the Tonight Show Wednesday to advocate for packing an emergency bag, in her role as an American Red Cross ambassador.)
She later posted a tribute to a local church that burned and had special significance to her.
“This is the church in the Palisades that had a beautiful Sunday school and school and was a gorgeous house of worship and is the building that I got sober in 25 years ago,” she wrote. “I think of all of the souls who came there for comfort and solace and all the baptisms and funerals and weddings and the thousands of people who reclaimed their lives through Sobriety. … Tough times. We will persevere. God bless you all.”
Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams Paisley
Jason Kempin/Getty
Though Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams Paisley no longer live there, Brad Paisley wrote a tribute to their previous home which was lost and the devastation to his old neighborhood.
“It was the first house Kim and I bought together. … That beautiful old house burned last night. As did most of that community. So many good people displaced, devastated and cast out all over LA,” he wrote. ” I would post a link to donate or raise awareness or something but it all feels so much bigger than that. I don’t know where to begin. I’m sure those of you reading this will find some way to help if you can, but mostly right now I just want to mourn the loss of a town. And acknowledge the beauty and the memories of what it was. It is all so tragic and sad.”
The recent wildfires in Los Angeles have devastated many communities, including those of some well-known celebrities. Here are a few celebrities who have lost their homes in the fires, and what they’ve said about the experience:
1. Miley Cyrus – The singer and actress’s Malibu home was destroyed in the Woolsey Fire. In a heartfelt Instagram post, Cyrus shared her devastation, but also expressed gratitude for the safety of her family and pets.
2. Gerard Butler – The actor’s home in Malibu was also destroyed in the Woolsey Fire. Butler took to social media to thank the firefighters and first responders for their bravery, and pledged to help rebuild the community.
3. Neil Young – The musician’s home in Malibu was also lost in the Woolsey Fire. Young posted a message on his website, expressing his sadness and calling for action to prevent future wildfires.
4. Camille Grammer – The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star lost her Malibu home in the Woolsey Fire. Grammer shared her devastation on social media, but also expressed gratitude for the safety of her family and pets.
These celebrities, like so many others in the Los Angeles area, have been deeply impacted by the wildfires. Our thoughts are with them as they navigate the process of rebuilding and healing.
