Jimmy Kimmel's sister-in-law has been accused of targeting a small grocery store's bakery in Los Angeles because it sold cookies supporting mayoral hopeful Spencer Pratt. The late-night show host's sister-in-law, Carly Kimmel, 49, allegedly lodged a complaint about the Pratt-themed cookies at Vicente Foods, a staple grocery store in Brentwood, a ritzy neighborhood sandwiched between Santa Monica and Beverly Hills.
Bakery Owner's Support for Pratt
The 78-year-old store's bakery owner, Danielle, told the Daily Mail that she made the cookies to show support for Pratt's candidacy, saying she related to his campaign criticizing the response to the Palisades wildfires. 'I lost everything in the fires,' she said. 'So, I sold the cookies to show my appreciation for what he is doing.' Pratt's own $3 million mansion burned down in the fires, and the bakery owner said she supports him because he 'stepped up for the community when we needed him.'
Complaint Forces Cookie Removal
'At first the store was supportive of me selling the cookies,' Danielle explained. 'But I was just told we had to take them down after a complaint... we were told to make them not visible anymore.' According to celebrity LA fashion boutique Kitson, it spoke to a 'reliable source' who said the source of the complaint was Carly. She is married to Jimmy Kimmel's brother Jonathan Kimmel, who has worked on his show for years.
Allegations that Carly Kimmel berated the grocery store went viral, leading the 49-year-old to hide her Instagram account to avoid backlash. A resident of the Palisades also told the Daily Mail that they had several friends visit the bakery since hearing about the incident, saying they 'confirmed the story after speaking with the baker.' Vicente Foods' bakery told the Daily Mail that they did not hear directly that Kimmel was the one who complained, but Kitson alleged in an Instagram post they were informed Kimmel was behind the cookie cancellation.
Public Reaction and Support for Bakery
'Attacking a small business seems to run in the family,' the boutique's post read. 'It's worth noting that the last two cases involving bakeries and freedom of speech ended with the bakeries winning in the Supreme Court. Go on Carly's Instagram and tell her how you feel.' Carly Kimmel and Kitson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. After the claims circulated across social media, many supported the bakery's move to show its support for Pratt. 'I encourage everyone to go buy something from the bakery to show your support for this small business owner!' one commenter said. Another added: 'Vicente Foods has been my go to store for 40 years. I even bought those awesome cookies weeks ago when they first came out.'
Pratt's Mayoral Campaign Heats Up
It comes as Pratt's campaign for the LA mayor's office has heated up in recent weeks, with voters set to head to the polls on June 2. The registered Republican is running to unseat incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman, and he has surged in the polls in recent weeks to trailing only narrowly behind Bass. The former reality TV star was initially seen as a long-shot candidate when he launched his campaign in January, with many seeing his hardline stances on social issues as too conservative for LA's voters. But Pratt's brash campaigning has won praise in recent weeks, with a number of celebrities and political figures endorsing his run to unseat Bass.
The 42-year-old went viral earlier this month in a heated debate, where he slammed the incumbent mayor for 'burning my house down.' The remark drew laughter from the audience, as Pratt was perceived by many to have dominated the debate and come out on top of his rivals. A poll from NBC found that 79 percent of viewers believed Pratt won the showdown, and famously liberal outlet LA Times determined he was the 'winner'. As well as making Bass's handling of the wildfires a key component to his campaign, Pratt has also vowed to aggressively crack down on Los Angeles's issues of widespread homelessness and drug taking.
Pratt's Hardline Platform
As part of his hardline platform against Los Angeles' social issues, Pratt recently unveiled plans to implement a three-week 'grace period' to warn criminals, drug users and homeless people to leave the city before he takes action. Speaking on the All In podcast, he hammered home his message that the city of angels is 'worth saving,' and suggested that his mayoralty will begin with a brief reprieve for those committing crimes and the homeless. 'My plan, the first three weeks, signs up across the city: no more nakedness, no more drug use, no more robbing, no worse, no more dog abuse,' he said. He says that his team will then go around and warn everyone that: 'You got three more weeks of this, clock's ticking.' Pratt believes this will show those propagating crime in the city that 'there's a mayor in town' and even make some of the troublemakers leave. 'After that, once we start enforcing the laws: Boom! Streets will be back,' he promised. He also suggested that he would bring in the Centers for Disease Control to wade out the 'medieval diseases' living in LA's homeless encampments.
