House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faced criticism this week after surveillance footage emerged of her visit to a salon in San Francisco, where she was seen inside without a mask, violating health regulations in the city. Pelosi reacted to the video, calling the visit a “setup.”
The salon owner has since rejected Pelosi’s claims, while Pelosi’s hairdresser has backed them up.
The video that was received by Fox News, briefly shows Pelosi walking through the cabin on Monday with a mask around her neck, and someone wearing a mask follows her. Erica Keeus, owner of eSalon in Union Street in San Francisco, told Fox News that Pelosi washed and blown her hair during her visit.
At the time, salons in San Francisco were closed for several months due to coronavirus pandemic. They were allowed to begin opening on Tuesday – the day after Pelosi’s visit – for outdoor service, according to San Francisco Department of Health… Face masks are always required during approved services and in general required throughout the city when social distancing cannot be maintained.
Video of Pelosi’s visit to the salon was widely shared on social media, where the speaker of the chamber received backlash and criticism.
In accordance with CBS San FranciscoPelosi’s office said on Tuesday: “The speaker always wears a mask and complies with local COVID regulations. The business invited the speaker to come on Monday and told her that the city had allowed them to have one client at a time in business. The speaker has complied with the rules presented to her by this institution. ”
Pelosi told reporters Wednesday that she takes responsibility for trusting the words of a salon she has been to “many times” when they said they could accommodate one person at a time. She said that now they must “apologize for [me] up “.
She also said that she “was flooded with people working in the hair care services industry who said,“ Thank you for noticing this. We need to get back to work. “
“Many of them are irritated by the attitude that was created with a goal that has nothing to do with ending the crisis. I’m not going to go into the details of this. It was clearly an attitude, ”she continued.
Salon owner Erica Keeus responded to Pelosi’s complaint about Fox News on Wednesday night, saying that the idea that she framed Pelosi was “totally false.”
In an earlier interview with Fox News, she said she was renting out chairs to stylists and learned about Pelosi’s meeting through her hairdresser on Sunday. She said she “cannot control” what her stylists do if they rent chairs, as they are “not paying” at this time.
Pelosi’s aide made an appointment, “so there was no way I could make it,” Keeus told Tucker Carlson. She also told Carlson that her salon is currently closed.
Kius said she has had security cameras for five years. “I mean I didn’t go there and turn on the cameras as soon as she came in to frame her,” she said.
“She came for quite a while, and just to see her come in, and especially without a mask, it really hit me, but it’s not even political. I mean, she went in there. The fact that she really came in without a mask, – said Kius. “And I just thought that you know that my employees and people cannot work, earn money and provide for their families, and if she is there comfortably without a mask and feels safe, then why are we closed? Why am I not able to receive clients? “
Keeus also said that she did not think she would stay in San Francisco and that she had received threats since the video was published.
“The hardest part is that I have been in this community for 12 years and since this happened I have received nothing but hate messages and death threats,” she said. “They’re going to burn my barber shop, my Yelp page is incredible with bad reviews.”
However, the stylist who did Pelosi’s hair supported Pelosi’s claim that it was a setup. according to CBS San Francisco.
Hairdresser Jonathan Denardo said through his lawyer that Keeus approved the appointment. According to Denardo, Keius also criticized Pelosi during the phone call.
Denardot’s lawyer said that Keeus had been violating health regulations in relation to the coronavirus for several months, and that photos and videos show Keeus styling clients’ hair at a salon back in April and just a few days ago. “It appears that Ms. Keous is pushing Speaker Pelosi’s mindset for her own vanity aspirations,” attorney Matthew Suleimanpour said in the letter.
Among the many people who criticized Pelosi online was President Trump. “Crazy Nancy Pelosi is being destroyed for opening a beauty salon when everyone else is closed, and for not wearing a mask – despite constantly scolding everyone else. We will almost certainly take the House and send Nancy to pack! ” Mr Trump tweeted Wednesday.
