In California, County Supervisor Bonnie Gore has suggested that Erica Kious, the owner of eSalon, consider moving her salon services to Placer County after Kious announced she would be closing her San Francisco business following the backlash she received over the release of video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial hair appointment.
“As an elected official, I am disheartened to hear about your recent experience in San Francisco with Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, at your salon,” Gore began in a letter shared to her Facebook page.
“I have heard you have been forced to shutter your salon in San Francisco. While you may already know your next destination, I would like to invite you to consider setting up your next salon here,” Gore wrote Tuesday. “Our arms are open to hard-working small business owners.”
The controversy involves the release of video footage of Pelosi getting her done inside Kious’ salon when salons in California had not been allowed to resume services indoors.
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The video sparked outrage among personal care workers in the state who called Pelosi hypocritical for getting her hair done indoors when businesses remained restricted to outdoor service. Before the Labor Day weekend, over a dozen women protested outside Pelosi’s house and hung blow dryers in the trees outside her home.
Kious said that she, too, received backlash for the incident.
“I started to just get a ton of phone calls, text messages, emails, all my Yelp reviews… saying that they hope I go under and that I fail,” she told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson. “So just a lot of negativity towards my business.”
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“I am actually done in San Francisco and closing my doors, unfortunately,” she announced on September 9.
Following her appearance on the network, a number of GoFundMe pages were created to help support Kious. One campaign, set up by former Nevada Republican Party chairwoman Amy Tarkanian, raised over $300,000 to help Kious “pay off any debts from the business that she is forced to shut down, expenses to relocate and reopen in a new location.”
In an update on the page, Kious thanked people for their support.
“I am very humbled and grateful to have received such an outpouring of kindness, empathy and generosity from people I don’t even know, and from all walks of life and all sides of the political spectrum,” she wrote. “It’s a powerful reminder that the common things that bind us all together as Americans are far more meaningful and lasting than political and ideological differences that get so much attention and focus.”
Gore, a Republican, offered to connect with Kious about reopening her salon in Placer County, which the official said is “proud to have fought hard as a community to allow our businesses to open and stay open.”
“Our community strongly supports local businesses while understanding the importance of being responsible and promoting safety guidelines,” Gore added.
Newsweek reached out to Kious for comment but did not hear back before publication.
As of September 17, Placer County is listed as having a “substantial” risk of COVID-19 spread, according to California’s coronavirus reopening blueprint. Hair salons and barber shops in the county are currently allowed to open indoors with modifications.
