Katy Perry and Chris Pratt backed ‘anti-abortion’ ex-Republican Rick Caruso. He lost anyway
Chris Pratt and Katy Perry backed Rick Caruso. (Getty)
Alleged anti-abortion billionaire Rick Caruso has lost the election for Los Angeles mayor to Karen Bass, despite support from Katy Perry and other stars.
Bass is projected to win with 70 per cent of votes counted, which would make her the first woman and second Black mayor of LA, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Bass, a congresswoman, was leading by about 50,000 votes, with about three-quarters of ballots counted.
Caruso spent more than $100 million on his run and received public support from a slew of celebrities, including pop star Katy Perry.
However, the high profile pushes didn’t necessarily sit well with the general public.
Perry received backlash from fans after posting on Instagram about voting for Caruso merely hours after posting a video on Twitter in support of abortion.
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) November 7, 2022
Caruso has a murky record on reproductive rights and has made donations to anti-abortion politicians as recently as this year. However, his representatives told ABC7 that “Rick has always been pro-choice and has always supported Roe v Wade”.
Similarly, people took issue with actor Chris Pratt’s endorsement of the former Republican (Caruso registered as a Democrat just weeks before announcing his candidacy).
In an Instagram Story earlier this month, Pratt wrote that Caruso was “the guy for our city”. He claimed LA was in a “gradual decline into pain and utter disarray”.
But people took to social media to talk about the difference in wealth between Caruso and the celebrities compared with the general public.
Others mentioned the fact many of the celebrities endorsing Caruso, who also included Elon Musk and Gwyneth Paltrow, live in gated communities.
Bass confirmed on Twitter she had received a “gracious” call from Caruso, who conceded.
“I have great respect for his commitment to serving the people of Los Angeles,” she said in a statement.
Caruso was someone Bass hoped “continues his civic participation in the city that we both love”.
She also wrote that she was “honored and humbled” to have been voted mayor.
In his own statement, also published on Twitter, Caruso called the campaign “one of the most rewarding experiences” of his life.
“We never stopped believing that local government can and should be a force for good,” he said.
”There will be more to come from the movement we created.”
