Samuel L. Jackson endorses Karen Bass for L.A. mayor

Actor Samuel L. Jackson has endorsed Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for reelection, releasing a video praising her as someone fit to lead the city through difficult times.

“These are the times we need someone who understands government, who also understands the needs of the people,” Mr. Jackson said in the video. “Someone who will go on the streets and gather the people together. Not someone who will divide them. Karen Bass is that person. Karen Bass for mayor.”

Ms. Bass welcomed the endorsement on social media, calling Mr. Jackson a longtime ally.

“Sam has always shown up for the people and causes he believes in — and I am grateful he is showing up for Los Angeles,” she wrote. The mayor said her campaign priorities include moving more unhoused residents into housing, expanding affordable housing construction and reducing homicides, which she has said are at their lowest level in roughly 60 years.

Mr. Jackson’s praise of Ms. Bass as someone who “understands government” comes as the incumbent mayor faces scrutiny over her handling of an official review of the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. The Los Angeles Times reported in February that Ms. Bass directed changes to the Los Angeles Fire Department’s after-action report on the catastrophic Palisades Fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of structures, in order to shield the city from legal liability.

According to The L.A. Times, two sources with knowledge of Ms. Bass’ office said she told then-interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva that an early draft of the report could expose the city to legal liability and asked that critical findings be removed or softened. Among the deletions, the Times reported, was language stating that the department’s decision not to fully staff up and pre-position equipment ahead of dangerous wind conditions “did not align” with departmental policy — replaced in the final version with language saying the number of engines deployed “went above and beyond the standard LAFD pre-deployment matrix.” A section originally labeled “failures” was renamed “primary challenges,” an item noting that personnel violated national safety guidelines was removed, and a passage stating that some crews waited more than an hour for an assignment the day of the fire was also cut. The L.A. Times reported that seven drafts of the report were produced before the final version was released in October 2025.

According to The Los Angeles Times, one source said Ms. Bass “didn’t tell the truth when she said she had nothing to do with changing the report” and that a confidant close to the mayor had warned her that altering the document was a bad idea. The same source said both confidants are prepared to testify under oath should the matter reach litigation — though no formal legal proceeding has been initiated and no official determination of misconduct has been made.

Ms. Bass has repeatedly denied ordering the changes, and her office called the L.A. Times’ reporting “muckraking journalism” based on unsubstantiated claims.

Ms. Bass faces challengers, including former reality television personality Spencer Pratt and Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman, in the mayoral race.