Actor Frank Stallone told Newsmax that the current state of Los Angeles is "absolutely terrifying" and predicted that the Southern California city is "on a trajectory to oblivion."
"I drive around downtown sometimes because I'm a historian," Stallone said Monday on "National Report." "I try to find some vestige of old Hollywood, like old places where movies were shot. And so I was driving around outside the city of Vernon and downtown, and I've lived in some pretty rough sections in my life. I've never seen anything like it in my life," Stallone explained.
"It really looked like that movie 'Escape From New York.' And I can take care of myself, you know? I drive a truck, and I have my windows battened down. It was terrifying. I can just imagine some wonderful housewife with their children taking the wrong ramp and ending up down there," he added.
"It's filth to a level I've never seen in my life," Stallone continued. "I mean, people, they're like zombies. It's like there is no consideration for people. There are house-like tents on the sidewalk. There's urine, there's feces, which bring rats and bring disease. … I see people just terrified to walk down the street. You've got a tent in the middle of the street with feces and everything out there, and I just can't imagine who's inhabiting those tents. It's just scary."
Stallone said he blames California Gov. Gavin Newsom for Los Angeles' rapid decay because "like any business, it all comes from the top."
"He is probably the worst governor in the history of California, maybe in the country," Stallone said. "He does nothing. We have one of the most beautiful states. We have mountains for skiing, we have some of the greatest fishing, we have some of the greatest beaches, and it has just fallen to a decline like I've never seen before. And these people keep voting these buffoons into power."
Stallone said he has some hope because District Attorney Nathan Hochman and Police Chief Jim McDonnell both recently took office.
Los Angeles is "probably short 10,000 to 15,000 police officers for a state that has a lot of people," he said, adding there's "maybe 2,000 police to govern like 11 million people at one time on a shift."
The actor said that the graffiti "is unbelievable" and pitched the idea of putting panhandlers to work cleaning up the city.
"You get minimum wage to clean up the city, so you can make a few bucks instead of sitting there bothering people on every off ramp, every Taco Bell," Stallone said. "Everywhere, there's people there begging for money, and it's really become a point of nuisance.
"I see some of these guys standing on a street corner. They're like 24 years old, and they're sitting there ripped, in great shape, and I don't understand why they can't get a job. But the crime and the filth, I don't know how you're going to pull a 2028 Olympics off. It's embarrassing."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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