Imperfect Paradise: An update to the Bass vs. Crowley feud
California City
LAist Studios
4.5 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 3 September 2025
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Last month, former Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristen Crowley filed a legal claim against Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass, alleging defamation, retaliation and negligence in the wake of Bass’ firing of her. It’s the latest chapter in a feud that erupted during the historic wildfires in January. In light of these new developments, we bring you our original episode from April 2025 about how Bass and Crowley’s feud came to be.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Support for LAST comes from the Soraya, producing the West Coast premiere of Fiddler on the roof in Yiddish. |
| 0:06.1 | Enjoy a special concert production with English super titles featuring Tony nominee Stephen Skybell and award-winning Joel Gray. |
| 0:13.0 | Learn more at the Soraya.org. |
| 0:16.1 | Support for L.A.S. comes from Pasadena Playhouse presenting Eureka Day. |
| 0:25.1 | Jonathan Spector's Razor Sharp 2025 Tony Award-winning satire. |
| 0:29.3 | Eureka Day is on stage at Pasadena Playhouse beginning September 10th. |
| 0:32.8 | Tickets are on sale now at Pasadenaplayhouse.org. |
| 0:36.6 | This is In Perfect Paradise. I'm Antoniazadegido. |
| 0:46.4 | Last month, former L.A. fire chief, Kristen Crowley filed a legal claim against L.A. mayor, Karen Bass, |
| 0:51.9 | alleging defamation, retaliation, and negligence in the wake of Bass's firing of her. |
| 0:58.2 | It's the latest chapter in a feud that erupted during the historic wildfires in January. |
| 1:01.7 | We covered that feud earlier this year on Imperfect Paradise. |
| 1:08.7 | And so in light of these new developments, we are bringing you again our original episode about this contentious relationship. |
| 1:13.2 | The fallout over LAFD funding, Bass versus Crowley. |
| 1:29.2 | It was January 8th, the day after two giant firestorms had engulfed Los Angeles. |
| 1:32.9 | More than a thousand structures had already burned down. |
| 1:36.5 | And everyone was looking for someone to blame. |
| 1:43.0 | Megan Kelly, the conservative political commentator, went on her serious XM show to blast two Los Angeles government officials for their response |
| 1:45.9 | to the fires. The first, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, for being on a diplomatic trip when the fires |
| 1:52.1 | erupted. The city's mayor, Karen Bass, is in Ghana right now. She's on her way back now, but she's not even in the country. |
| 2:03.1 | And second, L.A. Fire Department chief Kristen Crowley, |
| 2:06.3 | the first woman, an openly gay L.A. fire chief, |
... |
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