Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has found herself in the midst of yet another controversy. This time, it stems from social media images that surfaced showing her attending a cocktail party in Ghana while the Palisades Fire was raging. Reports from the Los Angeles Times revealed that Bass was in Ghana as part of an official delegation sent by the Biden administration to attend the inauguration of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama.
During the unfolding of the events, Bass was seemingly captured posing for pictures shortly before 8:00 p.m. local time in Ghana, which coincided with 12 p.m. in Los Angeles. Subsequently, evacuation directives were issued in response to the escalating Palisades Fire.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass smiles for a photo while attending an embassy cocktail party in Ghana on Jan. 7, 2025. (Instagram/@maristagram)
Bass’s representative, Zach Seidl, stated to the LA Times that, “The presidential delegation was hosted by the United States ambassador to Ghana on the way to the plane. For the majority of the time, the mayor was in a different room on calls from LA.”
A spokesperson for the US ambassador to Ghana told the LA Times that Mahama held the reception for the American delegation before they were set to return to the United States on a military plane.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass smiles for a photo while attending an embassy cocktail party in Ghana on Jan. 7, 2025. (Instagram/@maristagram)
Los Angeles residents have been grappling with the devastating wildfires for more than a week. As of Wednesday morning, at least 24 people have been confirmed dead, though that number is expected to rise, according to officials. Additionally, dozens are missing.
Per Cal Fire, more than 12,300 homes, schools and businesses have been destroyed in the inferno.
The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
In 2021, Bass told the New York Times that she did not plan to travel abroad, saying “the only places I would go would be D.C., Sacramento, San Francisco and New York, in relation to LA.”
Bass’ office has not responded to a request for comment.
