UPDATE (3/1/21): The office of Gov. Gavin Newsom released a statement to KRON4 saying the governor did not eat in the restaurant. You can read the full response below.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) – Governor Gavin Newsom is facing controversy after posting a video to TikTok with comedian George Lopez over the weekend.
In the video, Newsom appears to be inside a restaurant in Fresno, where indoor dining is not allowed yet.
His account (@gavinnewsom) has about 103,000 followers, and the video with Lopez already has over 94,000 views.
Lopez asks Newsom “How do I find out if I can get a vaccination?” To which Newsom responds, “George, you gotta go to myturn.ca.gov.”
“Wait a minute,” Lopez responds in excitement. “Thank you, governor.”
Both Lopez and Newsom are wearing a masks.
Gov. Newsom’s office has released the following statement to KRON4 in response:
“The governor stopped by this small business to highlight that the owner received a California Relief Grant. An additional $2 billion in state funding for small businesses was made available to provide grants of up to $25,000 to help entrepreneurs hurt by this pandemic. The governor did not dine in this restaurant.”
Office of Gov. Gavin Newsom
A separate video of Lopez was posted to the Los Amigos restaurant’s Facebook page. Lopez was endorsing the restaurant’s food.
This is not the first time Newsom is facing backlash over reportedly not following state guidelines.
Back in November, Newsom admitted to attending a dinner party at the French Laundry restaurant in Yountville.
At the time, Napa was not allowing indoor dining either.
