KEEP UP

Kim Kardashian Called Out for Making L.A. Fires ‘Political’

Actor Danny Trejo slammed Kardashian’s advocacy for higher pay for incarcerated firefighters.

Kim Kardashian made higher wages for incarcerated firefighters her latest “cause” amid California’s destructive wildfires, but one formerly incarcerated firefighter—Machete actor Danny Trejo—says the Kardashian is barking up the wrong tree.

“Right now, as far as inmates getting paid,” Trejo told TMZ, “Kim, worry about the people that lost everything. You still got everything, OK? So let’s worry about all the people that are walking around with absolutely nothing but the clothes on their back.”

The convict-turned-actor has previously discussed his past fighting fires in Northern California when he was “in the joint.”

Kardashian took to her Instagram stories over the weekend to share a post calling for a wage increase. “There are hundreds of incarcerated firefighters, risking their lives to save us,” Kardashian wrote, according to various screen grabs of the post. “The incarcerated firefighters have been paid $1/hour to risk their lives,” she continued. She ended the post by “urging” California Governor Gavin Newsom to raise the pay to “a rate that honors a human being risking their life to save our lives and homes.”

Trejo told TMZ that Kardashian is making the fires “political” and advocating for something that hardly benefits the incarcerated first responders—a point he makes from firsthand experience, as he spent 11 years in and out of prison for drug dealing, armed robbery, and more, before turning his life around and mentoring others. “All the people in jail, and you’re talking to a convict, lady, all the people in jail, they’re fine,” Trejo said, complaining that “everybody needs a cause.”

NO JOKE

Kardashian Water Usage Called Out as Khloé Slams L.A. Mayor

Eboni Boykin-Patterson

Though he acknowledged that Kardashian likely meant well, his gripe with her plea is that the incarcerated firefighters get other benefits for volunteering to fight fires, including time knocked off of their sentences. He also told TMZ that most pay for jobs on the inside goes toward restitution—so the firefighters likely wouldn’t receive the extra funds themselves.

The reduction in time is the main draw for them, Trejo argued, so Kardashian’s advocacy would be better at serving the people who “lost everything” in the fires. “They committed a [crime],” Trejo said of the incarcerated firefighters, adding, “I hate saying this—I was a criminal!”

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Eboni Boykin-PattersonEntertainment Reporter

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.