Social media users appear to have found a flaw in Magic Johnson’s recent endorsement of Karen Bass.
Over the weekend, shortly after the Lakers legend released a video imploring Angelenos to vote for Bass for a second term as mayor of LA, several sharp-eyed politicos raced to X to rip the Hall of Fame basketball player for backing the 72-year-old in the race for one awkward reason.
“I understand Magic Johnson lives in Beverly Hills,” said Justine Bateman, an author and filmmaker with over 400,000 followers on the app. “I don’t believe Beverly Hills residents vote for LA Mayor, as BH is a different city with its own Mayor.”
“Maybe Magic Johnson should reconsider his endorsement of Karen Bass,” another added. “Beverly Hills, where he lives, can not even vote for the LA Mayor … Just an wildly uninformed and dangerous endorsement by Magic.”
A third user, who goes by @beachgirlca, later chimed in by writing, “Magic Johnson doesn’t even live in Los Angeles; he’s in Beverly Hills. Mayor Bass had to beg an outsider for an endorsement because no one in LA wants to back her failures.”
Bass is running against a slew of candidates for the mayoral position, including reality TV star and Palisades Fire victim Spencer Pratt.
The two actually faced off last week in a debate, a spectacle many watchers believed Pratt won.
Despite that — and the support Pratt has received from Johnson’s ex-Lakers boss, Jeanie Buss — Johnson told his followers Bass is “doing a tremendous job” and “has to have a second term.”
“And I’m excited to say that,” he said.
Bass, who began her run as mayor of LA in 2022, thanked Johnson for the words on Sunday, writing on X that he’s been a “friend for over 30 years.”
“His belief in how I’m changing Los Angeles means everything to me,” she added. “Magic has poured his heart into this city long before anyone asked him to — through investment, through community, through showing up. I am deeply honored to have his endorsement.”
