After being ridiculed on social media for attending a private party with Tucker Carlson, Tulsi Gabbard, and Kevin McCarthy, billionaire Rick Caruso had some words for his critics.
In a surprisingly long statement posted on social media, Caruso argued, “We need less angry rhetoric and more problem-solving; otherwise, we're never going to be able to fix what ails us as a city, state, and nation.”
He then went on to defend his decision to speak at All-In Summit, an annual multi-day conference that is popular among the “Silicon Valley for Trump” crowd, as well as attend a private event at Damian that Tucker Carlson, Tulsi Gabbard, and Kevin McCarthy also appeared at.
But while defending his actions, Caruso made an embarrassing error.
He claimed that Gabby Giffords, the retired American politician turned gun-control advocate who was shot, along with 18 others, at a political event in Tuscon in 2011, was also in attendance at the event at Damian with Carlson and others that night.
"This past week, I joined the All-In Conference and was then invited to join a dinner group with around 100 people representing voices across the political spectrum, from Democrats like me and Gabby Giffords to Republicans and independents," Caruso wrote.
Not only was Giffords not at Damian on the night in question, she wasn't even in Los Angeles, one of her bewildered staff members confirmed with L.A. TACO.
When asked to explain himself, an unnamed spokesperson for Caruso admitted that the 66-year-old Los Angeles businessman had misspoken.
“There were a lot of people there and Rick was mistaken,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.
Caruso didn't bother to correct his statement on social media, however. It remains intact with no corrections as of the time of publishing this story.
In his statement, Caruso claimed that the guest list for the event at Damian included around 100 people “representing voices across the political spectrum.”
But the only democrat that he referenced by name wasn't in the city at the time of the event.
When asked if he could name any other prominent democrats who attended the event, the Caruso spokesperson listed three names: Mark Cuban, Eric Schmidt, and Ari Emanuel.
On social media, hundreds of people criticized Caruso for attending the event at Damian, and Damian for seemingly welcoming people closely associated with Trump and the far-right movement at their restaurant, in light of the ongoing federal immigration raids in Los Angeles.
Maya Del Olmo, a spokesperson for Casamata, Olvera's restaurant group, told L.A. TACO that the event was “planned by a third party” and that Damian staff did not “provide food or service” for the event. Del Olmo said that Damian “was not informed of the guest list.”
Casamata cut ties with their private event planner, Stephanie Cuevas, after our story was published, an anonymous source told L.A. TACO.
Cuevas could not be reached for comment before publishing.
“The person you mentioned, Stephanie Cuevas, was not part of Damian’s staff or payroll,” Del Olmo wrote in a statement. “We engaged her services through her own company to assist with selling private events at the space. As I mentioned, the event was organized independently, and Damian’s only role was renting the venue. We appreciate your understanding and will not be providing further comments.”
The now infamous event at Damian, the L.A. restaurant of the world's most famous and well-respected modern Mexican chef, Enrique Olvera, has raised fresh questions about Caruso's political affiliations at a time when he's reportedly considering another run for mayor of Los Angeles or possibly the governor of California.
Caruso was a registered Republican for much of his life, but he changed his party affiliation to Democratic before launching his failed bid for mayor in 2022.
