Yashar Ali

Last updated

Yashar Ali
Born
Yashar Ali Hedayat

(1979-11-23) November 23, 1979 (age 44)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationJournalist

Yashar Ali (born Yashar Ali Hedayat; November 23, 1979) is an American journalist who has contributed to HuffPost , NBC News, and New York magazine. In 2019, Ali was included in Time magazine's list of the most influential people on the internet, in part due to his large Twitter presence. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Ali was born into an Iranian family in Chicago. He grew up in Oak Park, Illinois, [2] and attended Holy Cross High School in River Grove. Ali later moved to Los Angeles, working as a television production assistant on shows like E.R. and Chicago Hope . [3]

Career

Politics

Following his stint working in TV, Ali worked as a volunteer on Kevin Feldman's unsuccessful campaign to unseat United States Representative Henry Waxman and then on Steve Westly’s campaign for Governor of California. [4] Through Hassan Nemazee, Ali was introduced to Terry McAuliffe who secured him a job on Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. [4] Following Clinton's defeat in the United States presidential election, 2008, Ali relocated from Los Angeles to San Francisco, securing a position on Gavin Newsom's 2010 gubernatorial campaign, before Newsom dropped out of the race. Ali was later appointed as Newsom's deputy chief of staff. [4] Through his work in Newsom's office, Ali befriended oil heiress Ariadne Getty and began borrowing large sums of money from her, leading to her suing Ali to recover the $179,000 she loaned. [4] [5] Ali subsequently agreed to begin repaying the loan in monthly installments of $500, but eventually defaulted. [4]

Kathy Griffin

After departing his employment with Newsom, Ali returned to Los Angeles and worked as a cook and personal assistant for Kathy Griffin in exchange for boarding and use of a car. [4] In 2019, Griffin asked Ali to leave her home. [4] According to Joan Walsh, Griffin was "too intimidated" by Ali to ask him to leave earlier, though she had desired he do so. [4] Speaking of his time with Griffin, Ali has said that he has "grappled a lot with entering into codependent relationships of all sorts". [4]

Twitter and journalism

While working with Griffin, Ali began building a Twitter following. [4] He has variously been described as a "quasi-journalist", [6] "gossip columnist", [4] "journalist" and "social media influencer". [7]

According to The San Francisco Chronicle , Ali also worked as a federal lobbyist and has given thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates. [8] After working in California Democratic Party politics, Ali moved to New York City and contributed to multiple media publications.

On August 4, 2017, Ali reported allegations that Fox News commentator Eric Bolling had sent unsolicited lewd text messages and photos to three female colleagues at Fox News or Fox Business Network. [9] In response to the report, Bolling filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit in New York against Ali. [10] Ali said he stood behind the accuracy of his story and would protect his sources. [11]

In October 2020, Ali reported allegations that the mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, witnessed sexual misconduct by his top aide, Rick Jacobs, but took no action. Within this piece, Ali disclosed that he had been forcibly kissed by Jacobs multiple times. [12] Garcetti's nomination for United States Ambassador to India was stalled in regards to these allegations, but was later confirmed by the U.S. Senate. [13]

On February 12, 2021, Ali reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had been actively investigating allegations against Lincoln Project co-founder John Weaver. Weaver had been accused of sexual misconduct and workplace abuse by numerous men. [14]

On March 16, 2021, Ali reported that television personality Sharon Osbourne had allegedly used racist and homophobic slurs against several of her co-workers for years. This included allegations that she called Julie Chen a "wonton" and "slanty-eyes". [15] Osbourne later left The Talk due to these allegations.

On June 9, 2021, Los Angeles magazine published an in-depth profile on Ali's background and rise to fame written by journalist Peter Kiefer, who interviewed Ali as part of the story. The piece explored the extent of Ali's vast connections in politics and the entertainment industry, and reported several allegations against Ali, documenting several personal relationships with wealthy individuals which ended in furor over financial manipulation or misconduct by Ali, as well as raising suspicions about Ali's journalistic sources, charitable fundraising techniques, and personal bias towards targets of his investigations. [16] On June 7, 2022, writer Parker Molloy published an article in which Ali rejected many of the allegations put forth by Kiefer. Additionally, Ali criticized the journalistic process of the Kiefer article, specifically claiming that he was not informed of the claims against him, and that there were many factual errors within the piece itself. [17]

Personal life

Ali describes himself as a Roman Catholic, having converted from Shia Islam. [4] Ali self-identifies as a strong opponent of Scientology, describing it as a “dangerous, criminal cult”; he has been a guest on the podcast Scientology: Fair Game hosted by Leah Remini and Mike Rinder in the past. [18] He is openly gay. [19] He is well known for his love of elephants, and often posts content related to them. [20] According to Ali, he has ADHD and depression, and has a strained relationship with his family. [4]

During the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing financial crisis, Ali offered direct financial support through services such as Venmo to assist people in need. [21]

In April 2023, The LA Times reported that Ali had been sued for $230,000 by a debt collector after defaulting on a series of loans from Ariadne Getty. [22]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gavin Newsom</span> Governor of California since 2019

Gavin Christopher Newsom is an American politician and businessman serving since 2019 as the 40th governor of California. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 49th lieutenant governor of California from 2011 to 2019 and the 42nd mayor of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Elder</span> American talk radio host and attorney (born 1952)

Laurence Allen Elder is an American conservative political commentator and talk radio host. Elder hosts The Larry Elder Show, based in California. The show began as a local program on Los Angeles radio station KABC in 1993 and ran until 2008, followed by a second run on KABC from 2010 to 2014. The show is nationally syndicated, first through ABC Radio Networks from 2002 to 2007 and then Salem Media Group from 2015 to 2022. He maintains ties to The Epoch Times, a far-right newspaper published by the Falun Gong movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Tambor</span> American actor

Jeffrey Michael Tambor is an American actor. He is known for his television roles such as Jeffrey Brookes, the uptight neighbor of Stanley and Helen Roper in the television sitcom The Ropers (1979–1980), as Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders Show (1992–1998), George Bluth Sr. and Oscar Bluth on Arrested Development and Maura Pfefferman on Transparent (2014–2017). For his role in the latter, Tambor earned two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series out of three nominations. In 2015, he was also awarded a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Pfefferman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Masterson</span> American actor (born 1976)

Daniel Peter Masterson is an American actor. He played Steven Hyde in That '70s Show (1998–2006), Milo Foster in Men at Work (2012–2014) and Jameson "Rooster" Bennett in The Ranch (2016–2018). In May 2023, Masterson was convicted of raping two women in 2003, while charges from a third woman resulted in a hung jury. In September 2023, he was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison. Masterson is a Scientologist, as were his victims at the time of the assaults. The Church of Scientology's attempts to silence the victims and subsequent interference resulted in a 20-year delay in bringing the crimes to justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leah Remini</span> American actress (born 1970)

Leah Marie Remini is an American actress. She starred as Carrie Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens (1998–2007) and as Vanessa Celluci in the CBS sitcom Kevin Can Wait (2017–2018), both alongside Kevin James.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimberly Guilfoyle</span> American political figure (born 1969)

Kimberly Ann Guilfoyle is an American television news personality and former prosecuting attorney in San Francisco. A Republican, she became an advisor to the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Miscavige</span> Leader of the Church of Scientology (born 1960)

David Miscavige is the second and current leader of the Church of Scientology. His official title within the organization is Chairman of the Board of the Religious Technology Center (RTC), a corporation that controls the trademarks and copyrights of Dianetics and Scientology. He is also referred to within the Scientology organization as "DM", "C.O.B." or "Captain of the Sea Org".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey Weinstein</span> American film producer and sex offender (born 1952)

Harvey Weinstein is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Bloom</span> American lawyer (born 1961)

Lisa Read Bloom is an American attorney known for advising Harvey Weinstein amid various sexual abuse allegations, and for representing women whose sexual harassment claims precipitated the firing of Bill O'Reilly from Fox News.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Schneider</span> American television producer and actor (born 1966)

Daniel James Schneider is an American television producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the founder and co-president of the production company Schneider's Bakery, which he established in 2003 after working as a supporting actor in film and television throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Garcetti</span> American diplomat and politician (born 1971)

Eric Michael Garcetti is an American politician and diplomat who has been the United States ambassador to India since May 11, 2023. He was the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles from 2013 until 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected in the 2013 election, and re-elected in 2017. A former member of the Los Angeles City Council, Garcetti served as City Council president from 2006 to 2012. He was the city's first elected Jewish mayor, and its second consecutive Mexican-American mayor. He was elected as the youngest mayor in over 100 years, having been 42 at the time of his inauguration. Upon nomination of President Joe Biden after a previously failed nomination the year before, Garcetti was finally confirmed as Ambassador to India by the Senate on a 52–42 vote on March 15, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gil Garcetti</span> American politician and attorney

Gilbert Salvador Iberri Garcetti is an American politician and lawyer. He served as Los Angeles County's 40th district attorney for two terms, from 1992 until November 7, 2000. He is the father of U.S. Ambassador to India and former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Bolling</span> American journalist and political commentator (born 1963)

Eric Thomas Bolling is an American television personality, conservative political commentator, author, and financial commentator. He has occupied numerous roles as a commentator on financial issues for television, most notably for Fox News. He hosted Fox Business Channel's Cashin' In and Fox News Channel's The Five before leaving in May 2017. An outspoken supporter of Donald Trump, Bolling has published two books: Wake Up America (2016) and The Swamp: Washington's Murky Pool of Corruption and Cronyism and How Trump Can Drain It (2017).

The American pop musician Michael Jackson faced allegations of child sexual abuse in 1993 and 2003. Additional claims emerged posthumously.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 California gubernatorial election</span> Election for the governorship of the U.S. state of California

The 2018 California gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the Governor of California, concurrently with elections for the rest of California's executive branch, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Governor Jerry Brown was ineligible to run for re-election for a third consecutive term due to term limits from the Constitution of California. The race was between the incumbent Democratic Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and businessman John H. Cox, a Republican, who qualified for the general election after placing first and second in the June 5, 2018, primary election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kat Timpf</span> American television personality and comedian

Katherine Clare Timpf is an American libertarian columnist, television personality, reporter, and comedian. She is currently a regular panelist of Fox News Channel's Gutfeld! and appears as a contributor on various other Fox News shows. In 2017, Timpf co-hosted Fox News Specialists alongside Eric Bolling and Eboni K. Williams. As of June 2019, she hosts the Fox Nation show Sincerely, Kat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Los Angeles mayoral election</span>

The 2017 Los Angeles mayoral election was held on March 7, 2017, to elect the mayor of Los Angeles. Due to a change in the city's election calendar to align mayoral elections with statewide elections, the winner stood to serve a term of five years and six months instead of the usual four years.

<i>Fox News Specialists</i> American TV series or program

Fox News Specialists is an American news and talk show that aired from May 1 to September 7, 2017, on the Fox News. It featured three permanent hosts, Eric Bolling, Kat Timpf, and Eboni K. Williams, plus two rotating guests, who are called specialists, who discuss current events and political issues. It was created to replace The Five, that Bolling used to be a co-host for, due to that show moving to 9pm ET, in the wake of Bill O'Reilly being forced out at Fox News. The first two guest co-hosts for the first episode were Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and television producer Mark McKinnon. The first episode also featured an interview, conducted by Bolling, with President Donald Trump. A special edition aired on July 11, 2017, at 11:00 pm ET following an exclusive interview with Donald Trump Jr. on Hannity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Los Angeles mayoral election</span> Municipal election in California

The 2022 Los Angeles mayoral election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the mayor of Los Angeles, California. A top-two primary was held on June 7, 2022. Candidates could win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote, but no candidate received a majority. More than forty candidates formed committees to run. Twenty-seven filed their declaration of intention to collect signatures for the ballot, and of these twelve qualified.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Los Angeles County elections</span> Elections in Los Angeles County, California, U.S.

The 2020 Los Angeles County elections were held on November 3, 2020, in Los Angeles County, California, with nonpartisan blanket primary elections for certain offices being held on March 3. Three of the five seats of the Board of Supervisors were up for election, as well as one of the countywide elected officials, the District Attorney. In addition, elections were held for various community college districts and water districts, as well as the Superior Court.

References

  1. ↑ "Time 25 Most Influential People on the Internet: President Donald Trump and World Record Egg Included in List". Evening Standard. July 17, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  2. ↑ Perlberg, Steven (October 25, 2017). "Who Is Yashar?". Buzzfeed News.
  3. ↑ "Backed by Hillary and Bill Clinton, might Stanford University start 'Stephanie Tubbs Jones Voting Rights Center? ' (video)". Cleveland.com. August 29, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Kiefer, Peter (June 9, 2021). "The Curious Rise of Twitter Power Broker Yashar Ali". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  5. ↑ Tani, Maxwell (June 9, 2021). "Twitter Superstar Yashar Ali Got Evicted by Kathy Griffin". The Daily Beast . Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  6. ↑ Shroff, Kaivan (June 28, 2021). "Why Who Gets Twitter's Little Blue Check Matters". WBUR-FM . Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Freelance Journalist and Social-Media Influencer". National Journal . 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Campaign loyalists now in Newsom's inner circle". The San Francisco Chronicle . December 22, 2009. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  9. ↑ Ali, Yashar (August 4, 2017). "Fox News Host Sent Unsolicited Lewd Text Messages To Colleagues, Sources Say". HuffPost. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Fox News host Eric Bolling is suing a reporter for $50 million over story about sexual harassment allegations". Business Insider . August 9, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Eric Bolling Plans to Sue HuffPost Contributor Yashar Ali Over Harassment Story (UPDATE)". www.mediaite.com. August 9, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Mayor of Los Angeles Repeatedly Witnessed Top Adviser's Sexual Misconduct" . Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Garcetti's nomination remains stalled in the senate". Los Angeles Times . May 16, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  14. ↑ "FBI Investigating Allegations Against John Weaver, Sources Say" . Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Sharon Osbourne Frequently Referred to Julie Chen as 'Wonton' and 'Slanty Eyes,' Sources Say" . Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  16. ↑ Kiefer, Peter (June 9, 2021). "The Curious Rise of Twitter Power Broker Yashar Ali". Los Angeles . Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Yashar Ali is ready to talk about that magazine profile" . Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Episode 33: Journalist Yashar Ali". Scientology: Fair Game. March 23, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  19. ↑ "A conservative writer attacked a gay journalist on Twitter. This outlet just dropped her". The Washington Post . March 31, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  20. ↑ Stuart, Gwynedd (June 9, 2021). "The Curious Rise of Twitter Power Broker Yashar Ali". Los Angeles Magazine . Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  21. ↑ Graham, Jennifer (April 9, 2020). "Can Venmo Samaritans get struggling Americans through the pandemic?". Deseret News . Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  22. ↑ Hamilton, Matt (April 24, 2023). "Twitter star Yashar Ali still owes $230,000 to Getty heir. A debt collector now wants his income".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.