Los Angeles magazine Sept 2020

The Confessions of Katie Hill PAGE 62

Star Search: Meet Hollywood’s Class of 2020 PAGE 78

Inside the Cult of QAnon PAGE 48

Plus:

The Fall’s Best New Books, Music, Movies, TV, Restaurants, Shopping, and Fashion

ZOOTOPIA The L.A. Zoo has been closed to humans since March, but its 1,100 animal residents are just wild about pandemic life

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SE P T E M BE R 2020 READ ALL ABOUT IT

Katie Hill dishes on going from celebrated congressional freshman to tabloid victim in our exclusive excerpt from her just-published book, She Will Rise.

Features 48

QAnon Is Ready For Its Close-Up

An energized group of celebritycrazed conspiracy theorists believes JFK Jr. is alive, Congressman Adam Schiff runs a sex ring on the Sunset Strip, and Donald Trump is God. Five of them are running for Congress in California

BY JASON MCGAHAN

62

Confessions Of Katie Hill She went from a 29-year-old political novice, to flipping one of California’s most reliably red congressional districts, to a scandal tinged with revenge porn that drove her from office after ten months. In this exclusive excerpt from her justpublished memoir, Hill recounts her surreal days and sleepless nights as she contemplated whether to resign, fight on—or end her life

70

Home Alone Ever since March, the L.A. Zoo has been off-limits to most humans, but its 1,100 animal residents are just wild about pandemic life. A rare, behind-the-scenes tour of one of the city’s most beloved attractions

BY R O B E R T I TO P H O T O G R A P H E D B Y I A N S PA N I E R

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Buzz LONESOME DOV

» After a spate of COVIDrelated deaths at his latest company, Dov Charney is in trouble again. But is L.A.’s most controversial garmento unfairly taking the heat?

SE P T E M BE R 2020

BY PETER KIEFER PAGE 15

MAKING HISTORY

» Kelly Lytle Hernández’s controversial books on policing and prisons were once dismissed as too radical. Suddenly the awardwinning UCLA historian seems almost mainstream

BY ROBERT ITO PAGE 20

THE BRIEF

» Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard and Elon Musk PAGE 18

Inside Guide SMALL COMFORTS

78 BEHIND THE SCENES

»

Michael Cimino, star of Hulu’s LBGTQ hit Love, Victor, vogues for the camera.

For exclusive video and interviews from our shoot, go to lamag.com.

Legends of the Fall From a groundbreaking new Batwoman to the next paranormal hunk, here are the ten young Hollywood standouts who are leaving their mark this season S T Y L E D B Y S T E FA N C A M P B E L L • P H O T O G R A P H E D B Y B E N D U G G A N

8 L A M AG . C O M

» A look at the bright spots ahead—buzzy new books, movies, TV, music, restaurants, fashion, and more PAGE 23

Columns TRADING FACES

» Companies from Chanel to CVS are marketing makeup for men. But can they really get bros to love bronzer? BY JOEL STEIN PAGE 54

Ask Chris » Our resident historian, Chris Nichols, answers your burning questions about Los Angeles. PAGE 100

CORRECTIONS Los Angeles Magazine has retracted the article entitled “Inside the Shadowy World of Shen Yun and Its Secret Pro-Trump Ties,” which was published in our March 2020 issue.

Maer Roshan

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L A M AG . C O M 1 1

Editor’s Note

BY MAER ROSHAN

O F T H E M A N Y fraught decisions

one is required to make as the editor of a monthly magazine, few are more challenging than deciding what to put on your cover. Most of the stories in this issue were conceived long before they landed in your hands. By the time you read them, a small army of editors, fact-checkers, copy editors, and art directors will have spent months bringing them to life. At a time when the news cycle is measured in minutes, predicting what will be relevant to readers 90 days out is a task that seems more suited to a psychic than an editor.

Daunted by these challenges, many monthlies have opted to focus on less perishable topics. (A story on staycations won’t win a Pulitzer, but at least it won’t go out of date.) But as I write this, on an oppressively hot July afternoon, the pandemic continues to spread panic throughout the city. The social and economic costs of COVID-19 seem almost epic, no more so then when measured in the daily closings of the restaurants, shops, and services that form the spine and soul of our city.

As a steward of this publication at this pivotal time in Los Angeles’ history, I’m keenly aware of the faith that readers have in us. So we’ve worked hard to transform our website—lamag.com—into an up-to-the 1 2 L A M AG . C O M

The blissful beasts at the zoo are reminders that, as bad as things are, someday soon this will all be over and Los Angeles will live to see a brighter day.

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER @MAERROSHAN

The Confessions of Katie Hill

Star Search: Meet Hollywood’s Class of 2020

Inside the Cult of QAnon

PAGE 62

PAGE 78

PAGE 48

Plus: The Fall’s Best New Books, Music, Movies, TV, Restaurants, Shopping, and Fashion

ZOOTOPIA

minute resource that makes and breaks news and provides the information and sustenance that readers are seeking. But while some stories seem tailor-made for the web, others benefit from a slower and more contemplative walk into print. Consider our exclusive excerpt of the new memoir by former congresswoman Katie Hill. Two years ago, the then-31-year-old activist was swept into office on a blue wave that pushed Democrats into the House majority. With her poise and down-to-earth manner, she was hailed as a rising star until an ugly sex scandal snuffed out her political career soon after it had begun. With guileless candor, she writes here about the painful period that lead to her downfall and her struggle to bounce back from that abyss.

Elsewhere in this issue, you can read Jason McGahan’s six-month investigation of QAnon—the cultish, conspiracy-driven movement that has millions of seemingly normal Americans in its grip. The QAnon crowd views Donald Trump as a god and Hollywood as a cesspool of child-molesting degenerates.

Their crackpot notions would seem comical were they not so dangerous. This November, in California alone, five QAnon true believers are running for Congress—including one who got her degree at the London School of Economics. Clearly, in the America of 2020, paranoia and batshit conspiracy-mongering is not just the province of the undereducated.

Which brings us to this month’s cover. “A giraffe?” I can hear some of you saying. “Really?”

Well . . . yes. My staff and I are citizens of L.A. as well as journalists who cover it. Six unrelenting months of pandemic and political turmoil feels a bit draining even to us. So it seemed appropriate, at the start of a new season, to focus on a rare bit of good news: the L.A. Zoo’s animal residents are flourishing in the midst of crisis. Away from human scrutiny, they are healthier, happier, and less neurotic. Our cover boy, Phil, looks as sunny as his ancestral home on the Serengeti. The meerkats are enjoying a baby boom. Even the tigers look blissed out.

“Everyone’s on top of the world,” a zookeeper tells our reporter, Robert Ito. (Except the gorillas, he says; the gorillas actually miss us.)

The blissful beasts are reminders that, as bad as things are, someday soon this will all be over and Los Angeles will live to see a brighter day. If you don’t believe me, you can take it up with Phil.

The L.A. Zoo has been closed to humans since March, but its 1,100 animal residents are just wild about pandemic life

ON THE COVER PHIL WAS PHOTOGRAPHED

BY IAN SPANIER

Maer Roshan itor-in-C Roshan, Edi Editor-in-Chief P H O T O G R A P H E D BY S H AYA N A S G H A R N I A

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Lonesome Dov AFTER A SPATE OF COVID-RELATED DEATHS AT HIS LATEST COMPANY, DOV CHARNEY IS IN TROUBLE AGAIN. BUT IS L.A.’S MOST CONTROVERSIAL GARMENTO UNFAIRLY TAKING THE HEAT?

BY PETER KIEFER

I L LU S T R AT I O N BY JA S O N R A I S H

L A M AG . C O M 15

BUZZ

BUSINESS

O

V E R T H E PA S T D E C A D E , American Apparel founder Dov Charney

has been called just about everything under the sun: crook, creep, visionary, sexual predator—the list goes on. In the wake of Charney’s latest imbroglio—the forced closure of his Los Angeles Apparel factory after hundreds of his employees tested positive for COVID-19 and four people died—he’s making the case for one more moniker: scapegoat.

In a July interview with Los Angeles, 51-year-old Charney, who has been rehabilitating his image after a very public ouster from American Apparel, is choosing his words carefully. He’s worried that the L.A. County Department of Public Health, which he’s convinced targeted him for political motives, is itching to find another reason to shut his factory down after it reopened in July. “If you want to say that hyperbole was used and that things got theatrical from the media’s point of view, I think it did,” says Charney. “We were collateral damage.”

16 L A M AG . C O M

H E E L OR H E RO ?

Clockwise from top: Dov Charney in 2010; headquarters of Charney’s former company, American Apparel; L.A. County supervisor Hilda Solis criticized Charney’s Los Angeles Apparel after nearly 400 employees contracted COVID-19, four of whom died. Opposite: a former American Apparel employee displays a letter of support for Charney.

board of directors, which cited misuse of company funds and harassment as grounds for his termination. Undaunted and working from the same playbook he used to turn American Apparel into a retailing juggernaut, Charney launched Los Angeles Apparel in 2016. Despite the sordid controversies that have surrounded his personal life, Charney’s reputation within L.A.’s garment-worker community remains strong.

“There is a dual reality when dealing with Dov Charney,” says Marissa Nuncio, the director of the Garment Workers Center, which organizes and advocates for increased wages and improved working conditions for L.A.’s garment workers. Nuncio says that Los Angeles Apparel pays much better than most shops in L.A.—$13 an hour versus an average of $6—and that its facilities are often in better condition.

However, Charney has a reputation for being anti-union, says Nuncio, who is also troubled by the accusations that he was less than transparent with the

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From a public-relations perspective, the pandemic. This was confirmed by early summer was catastrophic for two of his employees.

Charney, who’s no stranger to weathWith 2,000 workers, Los Angeles ering brutal news cycles. Listening Apparel has the largest garment-factory to his version of events, one can’t workforce in the county, drawing from \ but wonder if he might actually help a range of ethnic communities, most have gotten a raw deal. of which are low-income.

It started with a July 10 Vast cultural differences press release from the among its employees Depart ment of Public made widespread testing Health, saying it had shut difficult to implement and down all of Charney’s Los track, Charney says, and Angeles Apparel facilities his efforts to coordinate for “flagrant violations” with health department of distancing require officials, while genuine, ments and infectionwere hampered by that control protocols. It also organization’s struggle didn’t like that the factory to come up with a game was using cardboard as plan for a once-in-aThe scandals a barrier between workcentury pandemic. “They that have ers. According to the kept moving the goalfollowed Department of Public posts. We were trying to Charney Health’s website, 384 Los work with them and hear throughout Angeles Apparel employwhat they were saying, his career ees tested positive for but we kept getting these haven’t COVID-19 across its three cryptic orders,” he says. locations in South Central.

“So while we were strugdiminished The closure, which ocgling to understand what the loyal curred in late June, sparked they wanted, they put support he a wave of news reports out a press release that enjoys inside slamming Charney and was completely inconsisL.A.’s ailing the company. The story tent with the spirit of our garment went global, appearing in collaboration.” worker The Guardian and other That it’s Dov Charney community. international media. L.A. at the center of this saga County supervisor and complicates efforts to get former secretary of labor at the facts. During his 25 Hilda Solis then issued her own press years of running American Apparel, release that further excoriated Charney.

Charney was a lightning rod for controBut Charney says his company had versy. He was constantly trailed by already implemented best practices accusations of sexual misconduct and that went well beyond what the DPH has settled five lawsuits. In 2014 he was was requiring in the early months of ousted from his own company by the

DPH during its initial investigation.

The situation at Los Angeles Apparel provides a window into the complexities that elected officials and business owners are grappling with when it comes to reopening the economy. In July, Los Angeles County had to roll back reopening plans after COVID-19 cases skyrocketed, which put Mayor Eric Garcetti’s handling of the pandemic under increased scrutiny. The L. A. Times editorial board wrote that the city had a coronavirus leadership crisis.

In late July, L.A. County public health director Barbara Ferrer held a press conference in which she admitted to major missteps in her handling of the pandemic response. “I’m the first one to admit how wrong we were when we thought there wasn’t a lot of asymptomatic spread,” she said, “and how wrong we were when we didn’t think that masking up was going to afford a lot of protection.”

In March, Charney sensed an opportunity to shift Los Angeles Apparel’s

primary mission from making T-shirts to manufacturing masks, allowing it to qualify for a waiver to stay open as an essential business. Los Angeles Apparel then scored several lucrative contracts, including one from FEMA. The company had been planning to produce a million masks per week, and by summer it had increased the number of employees from 500 to 2,300 in order to ramp up production. Filling those jobs were people drawn from some of the most marginalized communities in the county. By garment-worker standards, Los Angeles Apparel offers a very good employment package, which, for those with little or no safety net, is difficult if not impossible to turn down, even in the midst of a deadly pandemic.

Compounding matters, Latino communities have been especially hard hit by COVID-19. Latinos make up nearly 39 percent of the state’s population, but, according to the DPH, account for 56 percent of its COVID-19 cases—making Latino Californians twice as likely as

white residents to contract the virus.

Multigenerational households, crowded living arrangements, and the fact that many members of the community are entirely reliant on public transportation increase their chances for infection.

And without proper contact tracing, which health officials have struggled to deploy, it’s all but impossible to determine where an individual may have contracted the virus.

What’s unclear is how conditions specifically changed inside Charney’s factory, allowing it to reopen in July after it was shuttered for three weeks.

Charney, who stresses that he’s ready to move on and work in good faith with county health officials, says that very little has in fact changed. Cipriano Vilchis, who works as a lead mechanic in one of Charney’s facilities, says that while a few protocols have shifted, the biggest difference since the factory reopened has been how much more seriously his colleagues are taking the threat of contracting the virus.

When asked what new measures were being employed at Los Angeles Apparel, a spokesperson for the DHP said that the company had implemented an enhanced cleaning regimen and employees were physically distanced and wearing face coverings.

“Company managers are also now screening employees for COVID-19 symptoms, something they weren’t doing before,” said the spokesperson.

Nuncio says there’s plenty of blame to go around. She thinks the DPH can improve its outreach efforts in lowerincome communities. Flyers and posters are fine, she says, but there must be more proactive efforts to inform residents about the importance of testing, provide easier access to testing facilities, and educate people about what it means to be asymptomatic. In a perfect world, she adds, there would be enough of a social safety net to allow garment workers the opportunity to stay home.

“I do think this is a case of everyone has to do better. I’m glad they shut it down, but I do think DPH can improve the way it communicates with workers,” Nuncio says. Her organization is now trying to track down the identities of the four dead factory employees. But so far, she says, they’ve had no luck.

L A M AG . C O M 17

N E WS & N OT E S F R O M A L L OV E R

The Brief

THE TITAN OF TESLA MAKES AN UNSCHEDULED APPEARANCE AT THE YEAR’S WACKIEST CELEBRITY TRIAL IAN SPIEGELMAN

THIS SUMMER,

as Hollywood was shut down

by COVID-19, the most gripping drama in town was unfolding a continent away in a London courtroom: Johnny Depp’s libel suit against U.K. tabloid The Sun. The 57-year-old actor had filed a $50 million suit against the Murdochowned paper in 2018, after it published a story that branded him as a “wife beater,” based in part on allegations by his ex-wife, Amber Heard. The trial kicked off in July with a series of increasingly embarrassing allegations from the former spouse.

Heard charged that Depp had suffered memory loss after consuming copious amounts of alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine.

Depp accused Heard of deliberately defecating 18 L A M AG . C O M

in their bed, inspiring the affectionate nickname “Amber Turd.” The couple’s celebrity friends, including Winona Ryder and Vanessa Paradis, made guest appearances in court.

But almost lost in the cacophony of attacks and counterattacks was an allegation that SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk was exploring Heard’s final frontier well before she officially evacuated Jump Street. Depp’s barristers produced a statement from Alejandro Romero, a longtime concierge at DTLA’s Eastern Columbia Building, where Depp and Heard had an apartment, who alleged that Heard had given Musk his very own key to the couple’s penthouse. “From March 2015 onwards, Ms. Heard was visited regularly late

COOPER HEFNER’S NAKED AMBITION AT LAST CHECK, Cooper

Hefner, the youngest child of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, had fled his gig as chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises to enlist as a reservist in the U.S. Air Force.

Now, after a year in the service, the 28-year-old, who majored in film at Chapman University and tried unsuccessfully to modernize the family business, is making another unexpected career turn: he’s running for a state Senate seat in California’s 30th District, which stretches across Culver City, Crenshaw, and downtown L.A., and has long been a launching pad for ambitious politicians.

If Cooper prevails, he’ll

P O L I T I C A L P L AY B OY

Cooper Hefner, pictured with his late dad, has his eye on State Senate seat

replace incumbent Holly Mitchell, who recently announced plans to run for a seat on the board of supervisors. His platform is progressive if not exactly substantial, but he’s managed to accumulate an impressive posse of A-list backers, thanks

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A MUSKY SCENT AT DEPP’S HOUSE

at night—at around 11 p.m. to midnight—by Mr. Elon Musk,” the doorman t testified in a sworn statement. “I would receive a call from Ms. Heard who w would tell me to give Mr. M Musk access to the garage, and then send him up to t penthouse.” the Musk, who admits to dating Heard off and on from 2016 until early 2018, denies that they engaged in any amorous behavior w while she and Depp were still married. “Amber and I only started going out about a month after her divorce filing,” he told the New York Post. “I don’t think I was ever even in the vicinity of Amber during their marriage!”

As the trial wore on, the thrice-divorced mogul, who recently had a baby with current girlfriend, the musician Grimes, offered the feuding exes some advice.

“I would recommend that everyone involved bury the hatchet and move on,” he said.

Depp, however, is in no mood to forgive and forget.

According to court documents, when he first suspected that Heard was stepping out with Musk, he texted a friend, saying, “I’ll show him things he’s never seen before, like the other side of his dick when I slice it off.”

Seemingly unimpressed with the threat, Musk told the New York Times, “If Johnny wants a cage fight, just let me know!”

N I C K C A N N O N : R O D I N E C K E N R OT H / F I L M M AG I C ; M O N E Y B AG : G I VAG A / E N VATO E L E M E N TS ; H Y P E R LO O P T R A N S P O RTAT I O N : CO U RT E SY H Y P E R LO O P ; T H E AY N R A N D I N ST I T U T E : W I K I M E D I A CO M M O N S ; KO R E A N A I R : KO R E A N A I R .CO M ; Y E E Z Y: DAV I D L E ZC A N O/ U N S P L AS H ; KAVA H O L D I N G S : CO U RT E SY D O R C H E ST E R CO L L E C T I O N ; T H E A R C H E R S C H O O L FO R G I R L S : A R C H E R .O R G ; K R E AT I O N J U I C E RY: T W I T T E R .CO M / K R E AT I O N J U I C E ; D I O C E S E O F SA N B E R N A R D I N O : I N STAG R A M .CO M /S B D I O C E S E

STARTING BID FOR A RECENT AUCTION OF THE VIDEO CAMERA USED TO CAPTURE RODNEY KING’S BEATING. AT PRESS TIME, NO ONE HAD YET BID ON THE CAMCORDER.

to help from his 67-yearold sister, Christie Hefner. Starting in 1988 Christie spent 21 years as Playboy’s CEO. More recently she has reigned as president of the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation—a deep-pocketed advocate for progressive and First Amendment issues— and become a bone fide Democratic power player in the process. Her early fundraising for Barack Obama reportedly helped him win his U.S. Senate seat in 2005. Now she’s mined her impressive network on behalf of her brother’s fledgling campaign. His advisors include John Emerson, Obama’s former ambassador to Germany. He also recently snagged a ringing endorsement from Jesse Jackson, a longtime family friend.

But while Cooper Nick admits that being Cannon a Hefner has its privileges, he insists his famous name cuts both ways. “People make this assumption that I would not be interested in community issues,” he says. “I don’t think it will be easy, but like my dad taught us, if you can’t stand the heat, you stay out of the kitchen.”

—J I M M Y J E L L I N E K

THE FAST TRACK TO FORGIVENESS L A S T J U LY, it looked like

anti-Semitic comments were about to torpedo Nick Cannon’s career.

On an episode of Cannon’s podcast Cannon’s Class, the ubiquitous host and former Public Enemy member Richard Griffin, aka Professor Griff, were heard parroting Louis Farrakhan talking points and referring to Black people as the “true Hebrews.” ViacomCBS hastily terminated its decades-long relationship with Cannon, but other studios—including Fox, where he hosts the popular game show The Masked Singer—stood by the star, citing his contrition and willingness to learn.

It looks like Cannon may have Howard Bragman to thank.

The crisis PR pro, who’s smoothed over sticky situations for everyone from National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard to Louise Linton (aka Mrs. Steven Mnuchin) to former White House press secretary Anthony Scaramucci, recently accompanied Cannon on a visit to L.A.’s Simon Wiesenthal Center, a human rights organization overseen by Rabbi Abraham Cooper.

According to Cooper, the meeting ended with good faith promises of continued learning and conversation.

And it looks like Cannon followed through, fasting for Tisha B’av, and even reading Bari Weiss’s book on anti-Semitism.

$225,000

LOAN RANGERS

S

ince May, the Paycheck Protection Program has helped 580,000 California companies weather the pandemic with grants and loans totaling more than $68 billion. The program was primarily designed to keep struggling small businesses (and their employees) afloat. But a closer look at the beneficiaries of tax-payer largesse revealed a few names we were surprised to see. — O L I V I A N OVATO

Hyperloop Transportation ($150-350K)

The Ayn Rand Institute ($350K-$1M)

Elon Musk hasn’t said nice things about the government lately, but the libertarian-ish billionaire didn’t mind scooping up a loan for his tunnel project.

Rand built her Objectivist brand on “self-interest and laissezfaire capitalism,” but her O.C.based think tank isn’t above a little government intervention.

Korean Air ($5-10M)

Yeezy ($2-5M)

The Seoul-based airline, one of Los Angeles’s larger PPP loan recipients, landed a hefty sum to help it retain 500 jobs in the L.A. metro area.

After bragging that his apparel brand had made him a billionaire, rapper Kanye West came under fire when the company got a huge loan to keep afloat.

Kava Holdings ($2-5M)

The Archer School for Girls ($2-5M)

The Bel-Air hotel company owned by the sultan of Brunei, worth an estimated $20 billion, earned a few million more from the government.

The exclusive private school in Brentwood, which charges $42,225 for tuition, benefited from one of the larger loans.

Kreation Juicery, Beverly Hills ($1-2M)

Diocese of San Bernardino ($2-5M)

The uber-popular health spot got a healthy handout despite mocking Trump with a juice cleanse called “Poop Enforcer.”

The Inland Empire diocese was among the 10 percent of religious institutions that received pandemic aid.

— GWY N E D D ST UA RT L A M AG . C O M 19

Buzz

INFLUENCERS

Making History KELLY LYTLE HERNÁNDEZ’S CONTROVERSIAL BOOKS ON POLICING AND PRISONS WERE ONCE DISMISSED AS TOO RADICAL. SUDDENLY THE AWARD-WINNING UCLA HISTORIAN SEEMS ALMOST MAINSTREAM

BY ROB E RT I T O

F

O R M U C H O F her career, UCLA professor and histo-

much white supremacy is written into our DNA,” she says. “There was something about the Amy Cooper incident, the killing of Breonna Taylor, that man staring into the camera with his knee on George Floyd’s neck. There was something about that that turned the tide and ripped off the blinders for a broad base of people living in the United States.”

Growing up in San Diego, Lytle Hernández experienced firsthand many of the issues she now contends with as a writer and researcher. “I had a good friend in elementary school who lost an uncle to deportation,” she says. She recalls the Border Patrol as a near-constant presence in the 1980s, when agents cruised the streets and

rian Kelly Lytle Hernández has taken on some of this country’s most powerful and storied institutions. In her 2010 book, Migra!

A History of the U.S. Border Patrol, she laid out, in exacting detail, the racist roots of that agency, from its targeting of Mexican migrant laborers in its earliest days, to later programs like “Operation Wetback.” In City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles, 1771-1965, she tackled L.A.’s sprawl of jails and prisons, explaining how the city came to create the largest prison system in the U.S. by systematically and intentionally “purging, removing, caging . . . and eliminating” immigrants and people of color.

“I never As director of Million Dollar Hoods, an exhaustive mapdreamed based project that reveals I would see the human and literal cost this kind (nearly a billion dollars of change every year) of incarcerating thousands of people in my throughout L.A., she took lifetime.” on the LAPD and the sherKELLY LYTLE iff ’s department, among HERNÁNDEZ others. Over the years, Lytle Hernández has caught heat for her views. “When I used to talk about white supremacy, people would pull me aside and say, ‘You know, that’s not really appropriate talk for the public.’” She laughs. “I literally have been told that—repeatedly.”

But a funny thing happened over the past several months. As people have taken to the streets to protest police violence against African Americans and to topple longstanding monuments to the Confederacy—as calls to defund the police and imagine a world without prisons gain traction—Lytle Hernández’s views suddenly don’t seem so fringe. “People are finally getting how

20 L A M AG . C O M

neighborhoods of San Diego and rousted people on buses and transit stations.

Last September Lytle Hernández received a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship for “challenging long-held beliefs about the origins, ideology, and systemic evolution of America’s modernday incarceration and immigrant detention practices.” After years teaching history and African American Studies classes at UCLA, Lytle Hernández plans to take the next year off to focus on her Million Dollar Hoods project and to write a book about its history. She’s also finishing the last chapter of a book about the Flores Magón brothers, Mexican activists who helped seed the Mexican Revolution while living in Edendale— now Silver Lake—among other places.

“It’s about a group of Mexican exiles to the United States who came here, were tracked down by spies and assassins sent by the dictator of Mexico, and still figured out a way to foment enough discontent across borders to launch the Mexican Revolution of 1910,” she says. “It reads like a Hollywood film, but it’s also part of the origin story of the Mexican American population, and the massive surge of immigration to the United States.”

A century later, the story is particularly relevant. “We have a president who takes easy swipes at communities as if they don’t belong here,” she says.

“We need to make it clear that this is a community that has been here for a very long time and has helped build our society and culture and contributed to our freedom movements.”

As for our current tumultuous times, Lytle Hernández sees reason for both optimism and caution. “I never dreamed I would see this kind of change in my lifetime,” she says. “And I’m thankful that we’re here. But I have deep concerns about what comes next because we’ve been here before, right? Is this a more significant opening than the Civil War and emancipation? But then Jim Crow followed the emancipation era. I don’t want to be a part of the generation that creates the new racial regime.”

PH O T O GR A PH Y BY S H AYA N A S GH A R N I A

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09.20 THE

Inside Guide FRIED RIGHT

The chicken sandwich from chef Mei Lin’s new casual restaurant, Daybird.

FA L L PREVIEW

Small Comforts A LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SPOTS IN THE MONTHS TO COME—FROM BINGE-WORTHY BOOKS, CHICKEN SANDWICHES, AND NETFLIX SHOWS TO BUZZY NEW RELEASES FROM CHLOË SEVIGNY, KEANU REEVES, TRAVIS SCOTT, LANA DEL REY, AND MORE

PH O T O GR A PH BY DY L A N + J E N I

Plus > Danny DeVito’s quarantine routine PAGE 28

> Chic parking-lot dining PAGE 34

> How to make your home office really work PAGE 46

L A M AG . C O M 23

The Inside Guide

TV

Mother of Reinvention WHETHER SHE’S PLAYING A TOUGH ARMY COMMANDER IN A BUZZY NEW HBO SERIES OR SHOWING OFF HER BABY BUMP IN HIGH FASHION, NEW MOM CHLOË SEVIGNY CONTINUES TO SURPRISE AND DELIGHT

BY MERLE GINSBERG

DURING HER RECENT pregnancy, perennial “It”

girl Chloë Sevigny—whose career spans modeling for Miu Miu and interning at Sassy to starring in edgy indies (Kids, The Brown Bunny) and major films and TV shows (Love & Friendship, Big Love, American Horror Story)—didn’t crave anything so obvious as ice cream or pickles. Instead the actress and style icon developed a nerdy-chic thirst for non-alcoholic beers.

“I got kind of addicted,” she says, with a throaty laugh. “I actually love the taste. There are some great ones out there.

Brooklyn Brewery’s the best.” Although, she admits with a sigh, “I did—and do—still miss my martinis. But it’s not like there are any social situations to imbibe with friends right now anyway.”

In early May, Sevigny gave birth to her first child—a boy named Vanja Sevigny Mackovic. During the pandemic she and her partner of a year, gallerist Sinisa Mackovic, have been hunkering down in their Manhattan apartment and settling

SCREEN DREAMS Watch out for these exciting shows on the horizon Away Hilary Swank leads a mission to Mars in this sci-fi trek from the writers of Parenthood and Friday Night Lights. Netflix, September 4.

The Third Day On a mysterious island, the lines between fantasy and reality blur for Jude Law and Naomie Harris.

HBO, September 14.

24 L A M AG . C O M

Ratched Ryan Murphy explores Nurse Ratched’s dark origins in this prequel starring Sarah Paulson.

Netflix, September 18.

The Comey Rule Based on James Comey’s book Higher Loyalty, Jeff Daniels stars as the FBI director and Brendan Gleeson is Trump. Showtime, September 27 and 28.

BY S E A N F I T Z-GE RA L D

The Good Lord Bird Adapted from James McBride’s satire, this miniseries details the

THE COMEY RULE

misadventures of a fictional enslaved boy, Onion (Joshua Caleb Johnson), and the very real abolitionists John Brown (Ethan Hawke) and Frederick Douglass (Daveed Diggs).

Showtime, October 4.

The Comedy Store The five-part docuseries about the iconic L.A. venue promises neverbefore-seen footage, including early sets by David Letterman and Sam Kinison, and interviews with comedy legends like

Jim Carrey and Whoopi Goldberg. Showtime, October 4.

Helstrom Marvel’s next TV swing follows the offspring of a storied serial killer as they hunt demons. Hulu, October 16.

The Undoing If you’ve ever wanted an East Coast version of Big Little Lies, here it is. Nicole Kidman plays a therapist whose ritzy New York life implodes following a violent scandal. HBO, October 25.

C H LO Ë S E V I G N Y: CO U RT E SY C H O PA R D ; T H E CO M E Y RU L E : CO U RT E SY C B S T E L E V I S I O N ST U D I O S /S H OW T I M ; T H E G O O D LO R D B I R D : W I L L I A M G R AY/S H OW T I M E ; W E A R E W H O W E A R E : YA N N I S D R A KO U L I D I S / H B O ; T H E WA L K I N G D E A D : WO R L D B E YO N D : M AC A L L P O L AY/A M C ; L E S L I E J O N E S : W I L L H E AT H / N B C

WE ARE WHO WE ARE

into their roles as parents. “We’re Being in a foreign country also learning how to do it,” she says, adding complicated matters. “My first doctor that having a son is a bit perplexing. “I was rather strange,” she recalls. “He sent still don’t have any idea how to deal with me to change in one room and didn’t give a boy. I’ve always been very femmy— me a gown. So I had to walk through dolls, clothes, makeup. I guess I’ll figure his office with no pants on. I thought, ‘Is it out now. I’ll have to!” this an Italian thing?’ Then he warned, Motherhood isn’t her only new role.

‘Do not eat any sugar! Only wear cotton Sevigny will soon appear in HBO’s underwear! Only wear skirts!’ When I highly anticipated We Are Who We Are, went back, he said, ‘You’ve gained three directed by Luca Guadagnino of Call pounds! That’s too much weight!’ That’s Me By Your Name fame. Premiering when I realized, ‘This is not gonna work September 14, the series centers on for me.’ So I went to a different hospital.” teens on an Italian army base. Sevigny Pregnancy came as a surprise to the “It was a real shocker. 45-year-old, who had tried to conceive plays the lesbian commander, and Jack Dylan Grazer (see “Legends of the Fall,” over the years both naturally and with I didn’t think I’d page 81), the nephew of producer Brian the aid of science. “It was a real shocker,” ever have kids. I just Grazer, stars as her adolescent child. The she says. “This was an accident. I didn’t acquiesced that it was think I’d ever have kids. I just acquirole sees her donning fatigues; sporting not going to happen.” esced that it was not going to happen a severe, cropped hairstyle; and wearing zero makeup—quite a contrast from her for me.” usual alterna-glam looks. “It was bad Once back from Italy, Sevigny reveled enough that someone who cuts hair on in her condition, posting sexy shots of military bases cut my hair!” she says. “But no makeup? I would her bare baby bump from all angles, and appearing on the rather have had something. It was my first trimester—I did cover of New York’s The Cut in nothing more than sparkly not look my best. Luca wouldn’t even let me wear mascara! earrings and a handbag. “I felt like I looked better naked Now with the pandemic, actors on new projects are going than in clothes. You just look fat in clothes,” she says. “At to have to do their own hair and makeup. I say, ‘Go work for least showing the bump explained why I was puffy.” Even Luca Guadagnino—you won’t have to bother at all!’” “puffy” and walking around town in Norma Kamali stretch Sevigny kept her pregnancy mostly under wraps for the pants, the mother-to-be was a fixture on street-style blogs five months they were shooting in Italy. “I had a pooch, but and fashion sites.

I tried so hard to camouflage it,” she says. “I’m not ever sure But Sevigny—who was pronounced the “world’s coolest Luca knew I was pregnant. Production had to know—they had girl” by author Jay McInerny in a 1994 article—isn’t looking to deal with my doctor schedule. It wasn’t easy—Luca doesn’t to be the “world’s coolest mom.” “Well,” she says and laughs, shoot on schedule. He’ll wake up on a given day and say, ‘I feel “Nicki Minaj is gonna be a mom, so I don’t know. And, personwe should shoot the ladies’ sex scene today.’ You don’t know ally, I think Kim Gordon’s the coolest mom in the world. So which lines to memorize. It was pretty frustrating.” that title is taken.”

THE GOOD LO R D BIRD

Gangs of London After the assassination of a London crime boss, a scramble for a new leader ensues. Think Game of Thrones in the underworld.

AMC, October.

The Right Stuff This adaptation of the

Tom Wolfe book takes us back to the early days of the space race as NASA hustles to find the nation’s first astronauts. Disney+, October.

The Walking Dead: World d Beyond A spin-off pin-off about the first generation of kids to come me of age in The e Walking Dead’s d’s postapocalyptic alyptic universe. erse. Sadly, none of them have TikTok. AMC, October 4.

Tiger Rachel Uchitel breaks her silence in this twoparter about the rise, fall, and return of Tiger Woods. But don’t call it the legendary golfer’s Last Dance—he declined to be interviewed. interviewed HBO, December 13 and 20.

Between the World Wo and Me In 2018, the Ap Apollo Theater adapted Ta-Nehisi Coates’s best-sel best-selling book for the stage. No Now HBO does the same same—with readings from Coates’s

book, archival footage, and animation. HBO, Fall.

Deaf U A coming-of-age docuseries that traces the lives of students at a university for the hard of hearing. Netflix, October 8.

Utopia In this conspiracy dramedy from Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl), fans obsess over a popular comic book whose pages hide warnings about the end of the world. Amazon Prime, early Fall.

Emily in Paris This rom-com about a marketing exec (Lily Collins) who wins the jobrelocation lottery and moves to Paris comes from Darren Star (Sex & The City), naturally. Netflix, Fall.

Supermarket Sweep We’ll miss Leslie ie Jones on Saturday ay Night Live, but we can’t wait to see her hosting this reimagining magining of the classic grocerythemed game show.

ABC, Fall.

L A M AG . C O M 25

The Inside Guide

MIXED MEDIA

Playing POTUS

ACTORS FROM MORGAN FREEMAN TO HARRISON FORD HAVE BROUGHT UNIQUE PERSONALITIES TO THEIR PORTRAYALS OF THE PRESIDENT. BUT TRUMP’S TURN AT THE ROLE HAS BEEN STRANGER THAN FICTION

BY STEVE ERICKSON

T

E L E V I S I O N M A D E D O N A L D Trump into a reality star, but if he had been cast as president of the United States 20 years ago, it would have been on a sitcom along the lines of Veep. His increasingly unhinged appearances that a bit of perspective and steel was enough to run the galaxy make even Julia Louis Dreyfuss’s character look supremely in Battlestar Galactica. But moral authority can be complicated competent, and it’s unlikely any screenwriter could have in a world where not everyone plays by the same rules, as the conjured up the mix of comedy and cruelty that characterizes first African American president of the U.S., Dennis Haysbert, this presidency, now sputtering to a finale in which unidentilearned on 24. On seven seasons of The West Wing, Martin fied troops crack down on protesters and we bumble through Sheen straddled the tawdriness of the Clinton years and the a pandemic while the president golfs. recklessness of the Bush years. He was a philosopher-warrior There weren’t many fictional presidents before TV or during who went so far as to hide a debilitating disease and an unlawful the first 40 years of movies. This was partly assassination that would avert a 9/11-style because the movies grew up with Franklin attack. Despite his flaws, he was a good guy, the Roosevelt, who was president so long that it was ultimate fantasy president for many Americans.

Even the most impossible for audiences to imagine someone Sheen brings us to type three, the Nightmare fevered else in the job. Paradoxically, we started getting President. Fifteen years before West Wing, he fictional presidents around the time we elected played an evangelical blowing up the world in Hollywood movie-star-handsome John Kennedy. Since then, Zone. Also blowing up the world—not by imagination has Dead big- and small-screen presidents have largely way of fanaticism but ineptitude—were Peter never conceived broken down into three types. Before JFK, the Sellers in Dr. Strangelove, meekly trying to of a president as soothe his Soviet counterpart back from the Studly, Two-Fisted President would have been unthinkable. We wouldn’t have had Michael nuclear ledge; and Jack Nicholson in Mars crazy, clueless, Douglas telling his political foes to fuck off in Attacks!, easily dispatched by Martians with and cynical as The American President, Bill Pullman telling a joke hand buzzer set on lethal. Somewhere the one given to invading aliens to fuck off in Independence Day, between poles of craziness and cluelessness was us by real life or Harrison Ford telling terrorists to get the fuck House of Cards’s cynical power couple, Kevin off his plane in Air Force One. Spacey and his wife, partner, and bitterest rival, and democrazy.

Notwithstanding such hunks-in-chief, the Robin Wright. archetypal default has been Moral Leader of Even the most fevered Hollywood imagithe Free World. Henry Fonda was the original; nation, however, has never conceived of a in 1964’s Fail Safe, he had to nuke New York in order to save president as crazy, clueless, and cynical as the one given to the rest of humanity. More recently, regardless of the film, the us by real life and democrazy. If Trump has a fantasy protoMoral Leader of the Free World is Morgan Freeman. So often type, it’s from the ’60s cult classic Wild in the Streets, in which has he been God, Nelson Mandela, and the voice of reason in Christopher Jones stars as a talentless, womanizing rock star documentaries and ads, that the presidency is, if anything, a who exploits his base, rises to power by pitting half the country step down. Surprisingly, he’s held the office in only two movies: against the other, betrays everyone he has seduced, relentDeep Impact and Angel Has Fallen. lessly lets loose his raging inner child, and kills his kids’ pets.

In movies and TV, moral authority will, forgive me, trump Onscreen and off, it’s time for grizzled old luminaries to make inexperience. Obscure employment counselor Kevin Kline a comeback. Doesn’t the aging, congenial, and eternally decent showed that a bit of humility and compassion was enough to Tom Hanks remind you just a little of someone running for run the country in Dave, and teacher Mary McDonnell showed president now?

26 L A M AG . C O M

I L LU S T R AT I O N BY P I X E L P U S H E R

Explore Art with Us Visit Getty from home with art, podcasts, videos, and more. Read, watch, listen, and learn at getty.edu/art.

Hærdaceous Pæony (detail), 1896, Kazumasa Ogawa. Hand-colored collotype. The J. Paul Getty Museum. Text and design: © J. Paul Getty Trust

The Inside Guide

M OV I E S

Living Large DANNY DEVITO CRACKS WISE ABOUT QUARANTINE COCKTAILS, WATCHING BASKETBALL WITH JACK NICHOLSON, AND PLAYING A SASSY MUTT IN DISNEY’S NEW THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN

BY ANDREW GOLDMAN

FA I R BA N K ’ S D I S E A S E might have prematurely stunted Danny DeVito’s growth, but he blossomed in virtually every other way. In his 75 years, he’s starred in (and earned an Emmy for) one classic sitcom—Taxi—and continues to plumb the depths of degeneracy in another classic, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which, when its 15th season airs, will become the longest live-action situation comedy in history. On the movie side, he’s starred in beloved films like Terms of Endearment and L.A. Confidential, directed favorites like Throw Momma From the Train and The War of the Roses, and produced award winners such as Pulp Fiction and Erin Brockovich. Now he’s starring in The One and Only Ivan, an animated tearjerker that premieres on Disney+ on August 14 and has him voicing a stray mutt named Bob. Ahead of the film’s release, DeVito talked to Los Angeles about the quarantine, Taxi, and his surprising first career.

How have you been occupying You grew up in Asbury Park, yourself during the quarantine?

New Jersey. I gather your parents had some tragedy in their > There were two or three weeks where I was having a cocktail evlives before you came along? ery night. I couldn’t > My grandparents wait for five came over from Italy o’clock. Every night in the 1800s, didn’t I was doing a difspeak English. They ferent routine: a For more of Andrew were laborers. They Goldman’s conversation margarita, a manwent through very with Danny DeVito, check out The Originals on hattan, then go difficult times. My Apple Podcasts rum and Coke. father used to boast Lately, I’ve been about how he got to drinking very little. I do Pilates sixth grade. My parents had five and yoga and bounce around on children, two I never met. One died a trampoline, which is really the in the hospital, and one died from coolest thing in the world. It whooping cough—from a panmoves the lymph around, keeps demic. Maybe that’s a reason that I that stuff flowing good. I’ve also haven’t been out of the house for done two juice fasts. four months.

28 L A M AG . C O M

Is it true you worked as a hairstylist when you were young? > When I was about 17, my oldest sister—16 years older—opened a beauty salon and said, “Why don’t you come to work for me?”

She sent me to beauty school. At first she started giving me all the old ladies. So there was a lot of dyeing and a lot of dying. She called me Mr. Dan. And it was a performance in a way.

You were much, much younger than your two sisters. Do you suspect you might have been a mistake? > I don’t know. There was a funny story they always told. When my mother got pregnant, she went

to her doctor. It was, like, 1944.

The doctor said, “You’re either pregnant or you have a tumor.

Let’s check this out.” I don’t know how long after, the doctor said, “Mrs. DeVito, you’re pregnant.”

She said, “Oh.” They loved telling that story.

How did you go from hairdressing to acting? > My sister wanted me to learn makeup because she wanted to have her own line. Very enterprising. So she sent me to New York.

I found a woman who said she’d teach me makeup, and all about the different Queen Helene products, but I had to enroll in the school where she taught at night.

It was the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Now, I had never thought about being an actor. I’d never seen a play. I never thought about going onstage. So I went, and I would audit all the other classes. I dug it. I started reading plays. But, you know, I was a big movie fan. I’m, like, a teenager, basically—18, 19. So I thought, “God, who are these guys? Why can’t I do it?”

I L LU S T R AT I O N BY C H R I S M O R R I S

What was it like working with Jack Nicholson on One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest? > One night we all drove from Salem to Portland to see a basketball game because if you’re near a basketball arena, Jack wants to go. And he was a big star at the time. Nobody knew who the rest of us were. We had floor seats, and there was press and the photographers. It was one of the first experiences I ever had with that kind of attention; people were chasing us. Jack’s friends grabbed me a huge Coke—huge. Suddenly we were down on the middle of the court, right on the floor. The ref threw the ball up in the air for the first tip. Exactly as the ball hit the apex, I kicked over my Coke and the entire tub went out into the middle of the floor. Whistles blew from every fucking place, and they yelled “Stop!” and came out with spray bottles and towels.

Nicholson just looked at me and said, “You want another Coke, D?” I said, “Yeah.” He said, “Get Danny another Coke.”

know them from Adam because I’d never seen Mary Tyler Moore, but I know I want this part, because it’s a really cool part, and Louie was a particularly welldrawn character. Everybody was sitting down. It was a scary moment. I had the script in hand, and I said to them, “Nice to meet you. One thing I want to know before we start: who wrote this shit?” And I threw it on the table.

There was a one-second pause.

“You’re making people laugh.

Hopefully you’re having a good time.

It’s a great living.”

> I went to Paramount to audi-

Then Jim Brooks almost died laughing. Basically it was one of those things where Louis actually walked into their office. From then on I could say any word I wanted and get a laugh. If I said, “And?” I’d get a laugh. Anything!

tion, and there were [producers] Ed Weinberger, Stan Daniels, Dave Davis, and Jim Brooks, all from Mary Tyler Moore. I didn’t

Your height is not something that figures much in most of your roles. But it was something

How’d you land Taxi?

they took advantage of in Taxi.

The year you won the Emmy, there was an episode in which you had an emotional monologue about having to shop in a husky-boys department. > Oh, yes, that’s my story. Once I got to this size, I stopped growing. But I wasn’t skinny, so I couldn’t go to a store and get clothes right off the rack. So I used to have to go to the largeboys department. I told Ed and Jim this story. We put that in the show. It’s always good to draw from your life if you can.

Andy Kaufman was portrayed by his friend Bob Zmuda as an outlaw whose process would make everybody’s life miserable. Did you find that to be true? > Andy didn’t make everybody’s life miserable on Taxi. Andy Kaufman was a simple guy, not a bad guy. Andy was a performance artist in an actor’s role on a popular television show. I think he would have been happier if he could just go out on stage and play the bongos at clubs and stuff. He probably would have been happier if he wasn’t on a TV show every week, even though we were blessed to have him.

There’s a memorable scene in the sixth season of It’s Always

Sunny in Philadelphia in which you’re sewn into a sofa, and you seem to have been lubricated beforehand. And you’re nude. > Well, you’re supposed to believe I was sewn into the leather sofa and it got so hot I had to take my clothes off. And it still was like in a sweat lodge, so when I come out I’m covered with sweat, like a newborn halibut.

There’s a long shot of your bare bottom. Did you use a double? > Oh, no. No, that was me.

It’s totally shocking. It made me wonder if the producers or writers ever asked you to do something and you were like, “Nah, too far.” > No, not really.

Sunny has run for 14 seasons.

How much longer do you think it will go? > We could do this show forever.

I could. Now, I recommend every actor out there do theater. Do movies. But if you can find a bunch of people to work with on a television show, do it, man—have some fun. You go to work every day with a bunch of people that you really like. And what are you doing? You’re making people laugh.

Hopefully you’re having a good time. It’s a great living. Come on.

WEST SIDE STORY

COMING SOON-ISH When it comes to theatrical releases, this fall is full of uncertainty.

But here are six films we’re excited to watch B Y J O R D A N R I E F E

N I KO TAV E R N I S E

Bill & Ted Face the Music Decades after their first excellent adventure, Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter’s lovably dim dudes are still time-traveling and partying on, only now they’re middle-aged dads.

In theaters and on VOD September 1.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things The latest from Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation) is a dark tale about a

young woman (Jessie Buckley) who questions the nature of existence during an unsettling visit with her boyfriend (Jesse Plemons) and his parents (Toni Collette and David Thewlis). Netflix, September 4.

Hillbilly Elegy Based on a best-selling memoir, a Yale law student returns to his hometown where he examines threegenerations of family

history while confronting white poverty in the Rust Belt. Ron Howard directs; Glenn Close, Amy Adams, and Gabriel Basso star.

Netflix, November.

Mank David Fincher’s award contender is a biopic about screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz and his battle with Orson Welles over credit for Citizen Kane. Netflix, October.

Dune The classic sci-fi novel has long defied cinematic interpretation, but hopes are high for this one featuring Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, and Oscar Isaac.

In theaters December 18.

West Side Story Steven Spielberg’s reimagining features a script from Tony Kushner and stars Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler, who beat out 30,000 other potential Marias for the part. In theaters December 18.

BOOKS

Fall Tales

FORGET THE BEACH READING. IT’S TIME TO COZY UP WITH THE CRISP PAGES OF THE SEASON’S BUZZIEST NEW FICTION

BY HAILEY EBER AND MALIA MENDEZ

Sisters: A Novel

by Daisy Johnson After being the youngest person ever shortlisted for the Booker Prize with her 2018 debut, Everything Under, the 30-year-old literary star continues her ascent with this dark portrait, set in Oxford and the north of England, of sibling rivalry and a family’s haunting past. August 25.

The Lying Life of Adults

by Elena Ferrante The pseudonymous author of the obsessively beloved Neapolitan Novels returns with another female coming-ofage tale. In Naples in the 1990s, a rebellious

middle-class teen named Giovanna navigates adolescence and her family’s secrets.

Naturally, a Netflix adaptation is already in the works. September 1.

Transcendent Kingdom

by Yaa Gyasi The GhanaianAmerican author follows up her acclaimed bestseller, Homecoming, with this account of a Ph.D. student studying neuroscience and addiction as she grapples with the deaths of her brother and father as well as her mother’s debilitating depression.

As in Homecoming, Gyasi’s restrained use of language makes the heroine’s e oine s unraveling

all the more piercing.

September 1.

Likes

by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum This collection of nine short stories from the National Book Award finalist amusingly examines the contradictions and complexities of our modern moment with cutting portrayals of Waldorf school fairs, tween Instagrammers, and aging indie-film starlets. September 1.

Anxious People

by Fredrik Backman The crime genre meets the outcasts-seekredemption gimmick in the latest from the best-selling best selling Swedish

author. An incompetent bank robber crashes a bourgeois open house and takes eight strangers hostage in this absurd, irreverent examination of the human condition, with winking pearls of wisdom like “Our hearts are bars of soap that we keep losing hold of.”

September 8.

Jack

by Marilynne Robinson This fourth novel in the saga that began with the Pulitzer prize-winning Gilead chronicles an interracial love story between the series’ dark-horse protagonist, John Ames Boughton (aka Jack), and a Black schoolteacher in segregated, post-WWII St. Louis. Elegantly mirroring a present not far removed from such fraught race relations, it has been hailed as “a beautiful, superbly crafted meditation on the redemption and transcendence that love affords. affords.” September 29.

Leave the World Behind

by Rumaan Alam A white Brooklyn family enjoys a relaxing summer in a rented home in the Hamptons— until the house’s Black owners suddenly return and a series of strange events occur. Netflix has already snapped up the rights to the topical satire in a bidding war between studios and streamers, with Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington set to star and Mr. Robot’s Sam Esmail directing.

October 6.

The Lost Shtetl: A Novel

by Max Gross This debut is drawing comparisons to Michael Chabon and Gary Shteyngart with its whimsical story of a tiny Jewish village in a Polish forest.

Isolated for decades, the shtetl escaped the Holocaust and the Cold War, but a marital dispute brings it crashing into the twenty-first century.

October 13.

M A RY F R A N Z / B O O KS CO U RT E SY O F T H E P U B L I S H E R S

The Inside Guide

The Inside Guide

MUSIC

Tragic Beauty ON A NEW ELLIOTT SMITH REISSUE, BOTH HIS MUSICAL GENIUS AND CRIPPLING ADDICTION RING LOUD AND CLEAR

“ S O H E L P your-

self to this bitter pill or somebody else will,” Elliott Smith quips on “Single File,” from his eponymous second album. Released in 1995, the record established Smith’s sound and vocabulary—dark subject matter, acoustic guitars, multitracked extended vocals, and chord changes so gorgeous that you almost forget you’re listening to tales of extreme pain and self-destruction.

In the years that followed, Smith would show himself seemingly incapable of writing a mediocre song. He turned out masterpiece after masterpiece, most of them about how he couldn’t take it anymore. His tragic death shouldn’t have surprised anyone truly listening, but that didn’t make it any easier to accept.

In celebration of the album’s 25th anniversary, Kill Rock Stars has reissued Elliott Smith with enhanced sound, an evocative photo spread and remembrances from Smith’s friends, and a live recording at Portland’s Umbra Penumbra. The new remix is so luminous, you feel like the 3 2 L A M AG . C O M

singer-songwriter is in the room with you. His pain is already palpable, but most of his songs don’t sound angry, unlike those of, say, Kurt Cobain. Beauty finds its way through.

People were perfectly capable of making an album of an acoustic guitar and vocals sound good in 1995. But the new mixes are shockingly vivid. You can smell the plaid flannel.

The highs are higher, the lows are lower, and the crisis of Elliott Smith has been restored. Before you are too seduced, recall that any time he seems remotely sentimental, he isn’t.

The new mixes are so shockingly vivid, you can smell the plaid flannel.

The song with the most romantic title—“The White Lady Loves You More”— is really about cocaine.

“Clementine” sounds tender, but it concerns alcohol and regret, riffing on a nineteenth-century song about death.

The album’s best-known track is the opiate-themed “Needle in the Hay,” which was later used by Wes Anderson in 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums, playing over a scene in which Luke Wilson cuts his wrists. The relentless chords are jittery, waiting to be anesthetized: “I’m taking the cure so I can be quiet wherever I want,” Smith sings. On every track, no matter how dark, the guitar chords caress, and his voice is a salve, of sorts—soothing, yet undeniably real.

Smith grew up in Dallas with an abusive stepfather,

graduated from Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., then was off to small gigs in Portland and bigger ones in New York and Los Angeles, where he settled in 1999.

On his final album, 2000’s Figure 8, he paid tribute to the City of Angels on “L.A.,” singing, “L.A./Morning had to come/I’d be walking in the sun/Living in the day/ Last night I was about to throw it all away.”

He did just that on October 21, 2003. After long struggling with heroin and crack, Smith was two months sober when he allegedly stabbed himself in the chest in the Silver Lake home he shared with his girlfriend, Jennifer Chiba.

Chiba, the only witness, claimed he wasn’t a casualty of drugs but of sobriety.

“He died in a valiant attempt to live a healthy life,” she said in an interview, noting that no illicit

TO P : N DY W I L L S H E R / R E D F E R N S /G E T T Y I M AG E S ; A L B U M A RT: CO U RT E SY K I L L R O C KSTA R S

B Y D AV I D YA F F E

THE SONGS AFTER SUMMER Ride out the remainder of 2020 with a killler soundtrack Beabadoobee If watching The Last Dance and scouring the web for details about the Clueless reboot isn’t fully satisfying your ’90s nostalgia needs, then check out the altrock stylings of this Brit singer-songwriter.

She lit up the summer with her catchy single “Care,” and her forthcoming debut album, Fake It Flowers, set to be released by year’s end, is sure to be a must-listen for fans of Belly, Liz Phair, and Sonic Youth.

WOR DS M I T H

T R AV I S S COT T CO U RT E SY E P I C R E CO R DS ; R I H A N N A : L E V R A D I N /S H U T T E R STO C K .CO M ; B L AC K P I N K : YG E N T E RTA I N M E N T

Smith’s songwriting talent is on full display on the reissue of his eponymous second album

substances were found in his system. “Anyone who understands drug abuse knows that you use drugs to hide from your past or sedate yourself from strong, overwhelming feelings. So when you’re newly clean and coming off the medications that have been masking all those feelings, that’s when you’re the most vulnerable.”

Smith gave his last concert, in Salt Lake City, less than a month before his death. His final song was a cover of “Long, Long, Long,” a sublimely morose George Harrison song about eternity, from the White Album. In an amateur video of the show, Smith sings the final lines: “You know that I need you/ Ooh I loved you,” and the crowd applauds. He seems happy for a moment, but then the show is over, and, all too soon, he is gone.

Blackpink The past 18 months have seen this quartet jam with Dua Lipa, score three Billboard Hot 100 hits, and become the first K-Pop group to play Coachella when they took the stage in 2019—all without releasing an album.

Their first full-length is due October 2, and judging by the hyperactive earworm of a lead single “How

teasing all new music on his Beats 1 show, .WAV Radio. Expect more magnificent fruits of his labor very soon.

T R AV I S S C O T T

You Like That,” it’ll be the most fun anyone’s gonna have this side of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Lana Del Rey She hasn’t made too many friends with her recent selfpitying tweets, but a Lana release always feels like an event. So start prepping now for the early September drop of her seventh album, Chemtrails Over the Country Club.

Expect lots of songs about being sad. And California. And being sad in California.

Sufjan Stevens Five years on from the singersongwriter’s tragically

beautiful indie-folk masterpiece, Carrie & Lowell, Stevens is finally following it up on September 25 with his eighth solo album, The Ascension.

Confirmed track titles include “Landslide,” “Death Star,” and “Lamentations,” so keep the tissues and antidepressants handy.

Travis Scott After rocketing into the mainstream with 2018’s Astroworld, the Texas rapper is well overdue for a new album—and something is obviously afoot.

This year has already seen Scott release collabs with Kid Cudi and Rosalía, as well as

Rihanna The Barbadian has spent the bulk of the last few years hawking her Fenty Beauty line and who can blame her, given the brand’s estimated $3 billion valuation. But there’s fervent fan speculation online that her ninth studio album is imminent. While there’s

RIHANNA

no confirmed release date, 2020’s penchant for delivering the most unlikely scenarios surely means that anything is possible. C’mon RiRi, we need this!

B L AC K P I N K

DINING

Parking Lot Piazzas HUNGRY FOR OUTDOOR SEATING, MANY RESTAURANTS ARE TURNING THEIR PARKING LOTS INTO SURPRISINGLY COOL ALFRESCO DINING SPOTS

BY HAILEY EBER

W I T H C O V I D -1 9 restrictions and precautions creating demand for more outdoor dining, restaurateurs are getting very creative. At Mozza and Chi Spacca in Hancock Park, an area previously used for staff parking has been converted into “Piazza Mozza” with the aid of red market umbrellas, a vibrant checkerboard pattern painted on the asphalt, Edison string lights, and walls made of plywood initially used to board up the restaurant during the protests for racial justice.

3 4 L A M AG . C O M

“I want diners to have the feeling I get when I walk into the piazza of my favorite little town in Umbria,” says chef Nancy Silverton of the conversion, which took roughly two weeks and cost nearly $8,000.

At Akasha in Culver City, large potted olive trees, strands of lights, music via a Bluetooth speaker, and an overhead lattice create ambience on asphalt. “It’s very rustic chic,” says chef Akasha Richmond. The stylish outdoor space didn’t come cheap: Richmond says she spent about $5,500 on it—“way more than I wanted to . . .

but people really like it.”

République’s chef-owners Walter and Margarita Manzke went so far as to repave a portion of their parking area so that it appears to have trendy concrete floors. It “mimics the feel of our historic atrium and dining room,” says Walter, of the outdoor space, which holds 25 tables.

The owners of Dear John’s in Culver City took more drastic measures to translate design elements from the interiors to the new parking-lot patio.

The retro bar and restaurant commissioned Venice artist Gary Palmer to replicate three panels of the dark, clubby dining room’s walls, which are hung with an eclectic array of paintings from the 1950s and ’60s.

“We literally brought the inside out,” says co-owner Patti Rockenwagner. “Everyone is undergoing so much change and uncertainty. They’re comforted by a bit of the familiar.”

M OZZ A : VA RTA N A B G A RYA N ; A L L OT H E R I M AG E S CO U RT E SY R E STAU R A N TS

The Inside Guide

S PAC E ODYSS E Y

Clockwise from opposite: Akasha, Dear John’s, République, and Mozza have deployed paint, plywood, and plants to create stylish patios for dining.

The Inside Guide

W H E R E T O E AT N O W

P L AT E E X P E C TAT I ONS

MELTING POT

Crispy cauliflower (below) from Nueva; assorted Chicas tacos; Prince Street pizza; Gigi’s burger and omelette.

Season’s Eatings FROM FRENCH BISTROS TO FRIED-CHICKEN JOINTS, A LOOK AT THE NEW RESTAURANTS CHOWHOUNDS WILL BE CHATTERING ABOUT THIS AUTUMN

BY HAILEY EBER

Bicyclette Bistro République’s Walter and Margarita Manzke expand westward with a neighborhood French restaurant sure to be both charming and delicious. 9575 W Pico Blvd., Pico-Robertson, bicyclettela. com. Late summer/early fall.

Ospi A new Italian joint from Jackson Kalb, chef-owner of Jame Enoteca in the South Bay, will feature house-made pasta, negronis aplenty, and cracker-thin pizzas inspired

by Rome’s Antico Forno Roscioli. 2025 Pacific Ave., Venice. Late summer.

Daybird Nightshade toque and Top Chef winner Mei Lin gets casual with a strip-mall spot devoted to fried-chicken sandwiches on milk-bread buns. 240 N. Virgil Ave., East Hollywood. Late summer.

36 L A M AG . C O M

Gigi’s The burgeoning Sycamore stretch of the Media District is getting a chic bistro on a lovely corner with handpainted murals and Francemeets-California fare from Matt Bollinger, former chef de cuisine at Trois Familia.

904 N. Sycamore Ave., Hollywood, gigis.la. Late summer.

Prince Street Pizza Rejoice. The beloved New York pizzeria known for its square pies dotted with pepperoni cups is opening a location on the Best Coast.

9161 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. Late summer.

Nueva This new cantina in the old Sunny Spot space will feature Mexican fare with Middle East-

ern influences from Yours Truly chef Vartan Abgaryan.

822 Washington Blvd., Venice. Late summer.

Firestone Tire Building At long last, the landmark building is getting its grub, with the opening of an outpost of Chicas Tacos and a beer spot called All Season Brewing. 800 S. La Brea, Mid-Wilshire. September/ October.

U Street This pizza offshoot of the popular Italian restaurant Union will feature pies made with artisanal flours and topped with market-driven Eat In! ingredients, For the first time ever, along with dineL.A.’s Summer salads and Restaurant Week is focusing soft serve. on takeout, with discounts on 33 E. Union to-go fare from hundreds of St., Pasadena. eateries. September 1-18, discoverlosangeles.com.

Late summer.

A new restaurant wants to expand Angelenos’ ideas of Mexican food and culture. Tamales Elena y Antojitos, which opened in Bell Gardens in July, specializes in food from the region of Guerrero, and is being hailed as the city’s first Afro-Mexican restaurant. “We are a mix of indigenous Mexican and African,” explains Maria Irra, whose mother, Maria Elena Lorenzo (below), is the restaurant’s owner and chef. “There were a lot of slaves that decided to have their freedom in Mexico.”

The restaurant’s menu reflects that unique heritage with an emphasis on guisados (stews); pozoles that are especially thick; and tamales wrapped in banana leaves that have been passed over an open fire. Says Irra, who works at the restaurant along with her four sisters, “Little by little, we’re trying to introduce more of our culture.”

8101 Garfield Ave., Bell Gardens, @tamaleselenayantojitos. – H . E .

C AU L I F LOW E R D I S H : CO U RT E SY N U E VA ; TACOS : CO U RT E SY C H I C AS ; P I ZZ A : CO U RT E SY P R I N C E ST R E E T P I ZZ A ; C H E E S E B U R G E R A N D O M E L E T T E : CO U RT E SY G I G I ’ S ; TA M A L E S E L E N A Y A N TOJ I TO S : WO N H O F R A N K L E E

Unique soups and stews showcase AfroMexican cuisine

HOME IS WHERE THE COFFEE IS

© F. Gaviña & Sons, Inc.

© F. Gaviña & Sons, Inc.

Enjoy FREE SHIPPING on any order using code LASHIP. Only at donfranciscos.com until September 30, 2020.

The Inside Guide

DRINKS

Heavy Metal

THINK CANNED COCKTAILS ARE SICKLY SWEET CONCOCTIONS NO ONE OVER 22 SHOULD CONSUME? PREPARE TO BE SURPRISED BY THESE DELIGHTFULLY SUBTLE, PICNIC-PERFECT BEVERAGES

BY JEAN TRINH

LiveWire Heartbreaker This crisp and effervescent beverage is the brainchild of Harvard & Stone alum Aaron Polsky and marries the 38 L A M AG . C O M

best parts of a Moscow mule and a paloma. Made with Ventura Spirits vodka, it’s punctuated by oroblanco grapefruit, kumquat, jasmine, and ginger. $6 each at Bar Keeper, 614 N. Hoover St., Silver Lake, or livewiredrinks.com.

B&K Classic Cocktails Old-Fashioned Matt Bostick and David King, the team behind this award-winning tipple, dreamt up the idea of bottling this classic when they were running their now-closed Baldoria restaurant and bar. It’s best poured over ice, and if you’re feeling extra fancy, add an orange twist. $7.50 each at Everson Royce, 155 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, or bkclassiccocktails.com.

Two Chicks Sparkling Vodka Fizz Perfect for an afternoon picnic, this smooth, bubbly, and aromatic libation crafted by a womenled business is punched up with vodka and natural essences of elderflower and pear. $3.95 each at Mission Wine & Spirits, 13654 Burbank Blvd., Sherman Oaks, or twochickscocktails.com.

Vervet Developed by four friends, including local bartender Hope Ewing, Vervet manages to squeeze a craftcocktail experience into its colorful cans. All four flavors are winners, but we especially love the Angelicano, which features red bitters and white vermouth, and drinks like a sparkling negroni. $5.50 each at Bar Keeper, or $58 for eight at drinkvervet.com.

A L L I M AG E S CO U RT E SY B R A N DS

I F E V E R T H E R E was a time for drinking at home (or covertly in outdoor public spaces), it’s now. There are a growing number of ready-todrink cocktails on the market, but many are mediocre and saccharine.

These six, however, manage to make convenience delicious and even sophisticated.

RAISING THE HOME BAR With a little know-how, the right tools, and plenty of fresh citrus and herbs, you can shake up drinks like a pro

BY B R A D JA P H E

tender at the Kimpton Everly Hotel. “Anything out of the bottle won’t taste nearly as good.”

L E T ’ S FAC E I T.

H O M E B A R : S H U T T E R STO C K

Greenbar Distillery Hibiscus Spritz This floral, fruity, and herbaceous cocktail created by an organic L.A. distillery elevates the classic Italian Aperol spritz with notes of rose hips, lavender, jasmine, lemongrass, cardamom, and orange bitters. The other spritz flavors—ginger and orange—are also tasty. $20.99 for a four-pack at Erewhon, 15285 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades, or greenbardistiller.com.

Drnxmyth Bourbon Sour For a heady cocktail made with fresh, cold-pressed orange and lemon juices, this high-rye bourbon sour from local barman Jason F. Yu becomes a complete drink once you twist and shake the bottle to combine the juices and alcohol, which are separated in different compartments.

It’s complemented by bitters made with sassafras, nutmeg, cinnamon, and molasses—and is lovely over ice. $9.99 each at drnxmyth.com.

Many of us are imbibing more of late, and doing so in the comfort of our own apartments and houses. Here are some tips from the pros for taking your home bar—and your homemade cocktails—to the top shelf.

Get the right tools “Make sure you get a proper Boston shaker and a jigger that measures two ounces on one side and one ounce on the other,” advises Luis Del Pozo, bar manager at Gracias Madre. While it’s not as decorative as a cobbler-style shaker, the Boston variety—essentially a tin with a pintglass top—is preferred by bartenders for its effectiveness in creating perfectly icy, vigorously shaken margaritas and daiquiris. Meanwhile, a proper martini requires a stir (apologies to James Bond). “Equally as important as a shaker,” says Del Pozo, “is a good strainer, a bar spoon, and a mixing glass.”

Bottoms up Beyond the fundamen fundamental categories of booze— whiskey, vodka, tequila, gin, cognac/brandy, rum— it’s essential to keep basic cocktail bitters (Angostura and Peychaud’s) and both sweet and dry vermouth on hand. Bitters will keep for years, while vermouth, once opened, is good for about a month in the fridge. Popular liqueurs like triple sec and St. Germain are also convenient to have around.

Squeeze it When it comes to mixers, forget that carton of Tropicana and grab your juicer. “Always use fresh limes, lemons, oranges, and grapefruits,” recommends Saeed House, until recently the head bar-

Be sweet The goal of any cocktail is a balance between spirit, sour, and sweet. For the last, simple syrup is often needed. Make your own by bringing a one-to-one ratio of sugar and water to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then let the mixture cool. It will keep in the fridge for several months.

Finish strong The line between amateur and professional often comes down to a good garnish. So load up on vibrant herbs and colorful swizzle sticks, and make sure you have a sharp paring knife for slicing fresh fruits. “Practice your cuts by looking up videos on YouTube,” advises Del Pozo. “Prep your herbs and keep them moist so they have vibrancy when you’re ready to use them.

There’s a lot of visual help on the internet, but practice is always your best end. friend.”

The Inside Guide

ST Y L E W I T H F E E L I NG

Willis in the latest ad campaign for L.A.-based fashion designer Simon Miller.

FA S H I O N

Rebel With A Cause

THE LOOK BOOK Willis’s vintage chick chic

BRUCE AND DEMI’S YOUNGEST DAUGHTER, TALLULAH WILLIS, IS BRINGING INCLUSION AND ADVOCACY TO HER NEW FASHION BRAND

BY MERLE GINSBERG

O P P O S I T E : CO U RT E SY S I M O N M I L L E R ; T H I S PAG E : CO U RT E SY WY L L I S

“HYPERBOLIC BY NATURE”

is how Tallulah Willis introduces herself on Instagram, and she’s not exaggerating about that.

The third daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore jumps into hyperdrive the second she picks up the phone: “I’m a pretty extreme person.

I tend to be, well, a little over dramatic?” She giggles. “Everything’s the best day ever! Or the worst possible nightmare! I don’t do well with subdued energy.”

Apparently not. The 26-year-old rode the emotional roller coaster of heavy drinking as a teen, and after a stint in rehab a few years back, she came out the other side. “I was lucky I was able to figure out so young that drinking wasn’t working for me,” she says. Now, instead of following in her famous parents’ Hollywood Walk of Fame footsteps, she’s following her own path with Wyllis, a popular new line of adult and kids’ clothing sold on Instagram and ShopWyllis.com.

“My sister Scout and I were asked to do a capsule collection with Juicy Couture,” Willis explains. “This was my first time observing design, poring over fabrics—I got impassioned!”

The partnership didn’t happen, but Willis was bitten by the fashion bug.

“I’d been craving a creative outlet I could give my soul to,” she says.

“Fourteen months ago I connected with a brand manager, and I’ve been there through every single step of creating and producing Wyllis in DTLA: from fabric swaths to fittings. I brought home samples for my mom and sisters to try on,” she says. “It was great. Each of us truly has our own distinct style.”

The street-fashion line includes pandemic-adjacent pieces like easy dresses, catsuits, and bomber jackets with friendly price points, all built around connection, advocacy, and inclusion. Each item comes with a warm and fuzzy interior-tag reading: “You are never alone,” with phone numbers for suicide and mental illness hotlines included.

Willis says she set out to create a line of “emotional-comfort clothes”— hence, sweatshirts that read, “There’s nothing like being super vulnerable.”

“I wanted my pieces to be cute but feel safe—protective totems, like worry stones, to match emotional/mental health issues with social justice. And mix it up with personal style.”

Until she founded Wyllis, however, Tallulah’s most creative outlet was her own hair. “I don’t sit still easily. Neither does my hair!” she says. “I just shaved it all off again.

First time I did it I was four months sober. My poor hair follicles are victims of my sensitivity! It’s been short, very long, bleached platinum, blue. What can I say? I’m a texture person.”

For a modeling stint for New York cool-girl brand Simon Miller, Willis wore her (then) short, sharp hair slicked back. “I was channeling my mom’s hair in Ghost,” she says. “I grew up on sets, watching photo shoots. My mom was this sophisticate; my sisters, so cute. I was always playing catch up to be that woman— like them. Maybe I’m there now. This is the most grounded I’ve ever been.

I’m craving structure, routine . . . that grown-up feeling!” And some cute clothes to go with it, of course.

Rivers Dress This baby-blue, puff-sleeved dress in synthetic linen was inspired by a vintage print sourced by Willis.

Wear it Boho, SoHo, or even NoHo style. $275.00, ShopWyllis .com.

Edie Magnus Shirt This cropped rayon top, reminiscent of a Hawaiian shirt, has all the colors of the season—and real coconut buttons. $150, ShopWyllis.com.

Bobby Heel Retro, walkin’-onflowery-sunshine-yellow leather sandals are adorned with resin bobbles, petals, and leaves. $268, ShopWyllis.com.

L A M AG . C O M 41

The Inside Guide

AUTOMOBILIA

High Roller

ROLLS-ROYCE WAS LATE TO THE ULTRA-PREMIUM SUV PARTY. NOW CULLINAN, THE COMPANY’S $400,000 ENTRY INTO THE SPACE, IS ITS BEST-SELLING MODEL B Y M I C H A E L WA L K E R

A

F T E R R E S I S T I N G F I E L D I N G an SUV (a strategy that swelled the profits of Porsche, Jaguar Land Rover, Lamborghini, and archrival Bentley) for fear of sullying its hallowed name, Rolls-Royce finally bit the bullet with Cullinan. Despite an eyebrow-raising $325,000 sticker that tops $400,000 after add-ons like a rear hatch that converts to a leather-seated sightseeing perch, Cullinan—named after the world’s largest diamond, natch—became the fastest-selling model in Rolls history, to the point that CEO Torsten MullerOtvos fretted its success could threaten the marque’s “promise to our customers to keep our brand rare and exclusive.”

It’s a promise Rolls takes seriously. Like all Rolls-Royce models, each Cullinan is handbuilt at the company’s Goodwood, England, atelier to insanely detailed specifications; it takes a small army of craftspeople a month or more to build

Cabin Fervor Cullinan’s high tech—a GPS-sourced self-leveling suspension, anyone?—is mitigated by acres of buttery leather and 330 pounds of sound-deadening insulation for a nearly silent ride.

When You Wish No fewer than 1,344 LEDs handsewn into Cullinan’s headliner create a starry night worthy of Van Gogh, complete with animated shooting stars. Bonus: you can pick your own constellation.

Power Play Cullinan propels its 6,000 pounds with a twin-turbo, 6.75-liter V-12 that delivers 563 horsepower, good for zero to 60 mph in 5.3 seconds and a top speed of 155.

Let it Rain Push a button on the doorjamb and a fullsize umbrella rockets into your paw. It can also be deployed from the driver’s side by your chauffeur, so nary a raindrop touches you.

CO U RT E SY R O L L S - R OYC E

Now, This Is Tailgating Lower the rear hatch, push a button, and—voila!—a cunning setting for cocktails for two springs into place. The flutes and a refrigerator for chilling the bubbly are hidden in a secret compartment in the back seat.

Disappearing Act The Rolls “Spirit of Ecstasy” hood ornament automatically retracts when Cullinan is locked, a bit of theater that can be indulged on demand via the infotainment touch screen.

4 2 L A M AG . C O M

a single example. That translated into a mere 5,152 RollsRoyces delivered in 2019, the most in the company’s history.

(Last year Bentley cranked out a record 11,006 of its own superlative luxury rides; the $168,000 Bentayga SUV, choice of Queen Elizabeth II, was its best-selling model.)

Which brings us to the inevitable reckoning: what is the place for a penthouse on wheels like Cullinan in these precarious times? It turns out that cars of all price points are emerging as vehicles of escape, literal and metaphorical, from the grind of quarantines and masking up. Loading you and yours into your own private COVID-free zone and hitting the road or a pop-up drive-in offers a precious glimpse of the personal agency and freedom of movement most of us have sacrificed for the duration. So if you’ve got the scratch, why not drop it on a ride that cossets with shameless luxury that seems out of time—but hopefully not for much longer.

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It’s great for keeping all of their pens, markers, and crayons in one place, so you don’t have to scurry around the house looking for misplaced essentials when the home-school bell rings. Better yet, it glows in the dark! $7 at potterybarnkids.com.

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O R M A N Y K I D S , the first day of school often means getting to shop for cool new clothes and scoring a sweet backpack or a new pair of kicks. Unfortunately, with in-person classes at most schools canceled for the foreseeable future, the only place to show off your loot this year is on Zoom. As parents anxiously await another semester of “virtual education,” their biggest challenge will be keeping their homebound kids focused and motivated. The Los Angeles Unified School District has compiled a helpful list of tips and resources for homeschooling on its website (lausd.net)—everything from lesson plans to virtual field trips to an archeological dig at the Natural History Museum and to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

But if you’re looking to add an extra bit of sparkle to your child’s daily routine, we’ve rounded up a few products that will make homework more fun—and they’re cheaper than a new pair of Nikes.

4 4 L A M AG . C O M

Erasers Mistakes happen, but these colorful mini erasers make correcting them more fun. They come in a pack of 24, and will remind your child of their favorite summertime treats. $5.18 at orientaltrading.com.

Kids will be drawn to the candy colors of these Gummi Bear pencils, which come in a set of 12 with five extra lead cartridges. The plastic bears are stackable, so you can adjust the length, and they snap solidly in place. $7.55 at amazon.com.

iPad Cover Little girls (and some little boys, too) are all about unicorns these days. This “Unicorn” iPad case, designed by Anita Bella Jantz, is made of impact-resistent polycarbonate. And don’t worry about the glitter making a mess—it’s actually a photograph. $45.46 at redbubble.com.

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Headphones

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It can be hard to hear your teacher when your dad is on Zoom screaming at his accountant.

These nifty wireless Marshall headphones are padded for comfort, and help buffer external sounds so everyone can stay sane. $149 at nordstrom.com.

Bye-bye sharpeners, waxy shards, and broken crayons. These gel-based versions have twist-up barrels, and glide easily on paper. Smooth Stix come in a pack of 24 colors, and their chunky size makes them easier for tiny hands to grip. $17.50 at ooly.com.

The world fell in love with Baby Yoda when he first arrived onscreen in Disney+’s The Mandalorian. This notebook is so unrelentingly cute you’ll be tempted to keep it for yourself. $29.99 at merchoid .com.

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> “Bright white walls bring calm and clarity to any office environment, but they can also feel sterile. A few well-placed splashes of color and texture will add a graphic punch. So will a neutral piece of art, a black accent wall, or a quiet patterned rug.” Modern Irregular Stripes

by ViviGonzalezArt, $26 at society6.com.

> “If you’re short on space, traditional desks may be too bulky.

But tall and adjustable desks that have a small footprint have plenty of room for storage. Keep everything you need in arm’s reach—getting up in the middle of the day to grab supplies interrupts your flow.” Ergotron desk, $1,000 at officedepot.com.

GET COMFORTABLE > “If your dining room table is doing double-duty as your desk, your alignment is probably off.

Pile up a few cushions to get the back support you need to work comfortably throughout the day.” Rheia faux-down pillow, $23.99 at society6.com.

SIT TALL > ”I’ve been working recently from my Sanni chair that I designed for my furniture collection with A.R.T Furniture.

It’s the perfect place to keep me focused and comfortable throughout the day.” Sanni chair, $499 at houzz.com.

46 L A M AG . C O M

Working All the Angles

GO GREEN > “I love to add plants to work ork areas. They add life and are proven oven to help boost productivproduct ity. ty. If you are lacking a green gree thumb, then go for a faux plant or tree. I love this one from Target, which comes in a modern white planter, looks real, but will never require any care.” Faux fern, $14.99 at target.com.

QUEER EYE’S BOBBY BERK SHARES A FEW DESIGN TIPS FOR THE PERFECT HOME OFFICE

BY MORGAINE MCILHARGEY

W

O R K I N G F R O M H O M E certainly seemed appealing. Or at least it did before you found yourself hunched over a sagging kitchen table, trying to hold it together at a Zoom meeting while your toddler hurled blocks at the dog. Turns out, making your home into a workable office is harder than it looks, especially when you’re low on space. Happily, Bobby Berk is here to help. The 39-year-old lifestyle-design expert and Emmy-nominated host of Netflix’s Queer Eye got his early education in interiors working at stores like Restoration Hardware, Portico, and Bed, Bath & Beyond. Since then he has parlayed his accessible design sense and winning manner into a growing national brand. When he’s not rescuing stylestarved straight guys, Berk owns a bespoke interior-design company in Los Angeles and has his name on a collection of furniture sold at Target and other online stores. The ideal work environment, he says, allows you to concentrate and create without distraction. “People get obsessed over office chairs,” he says. “But good design is about what you take out, not just about what you put in.”

LOWER THE VOLUME > “I always carry my noisecanceling headphones when I travel, but they’re absolutely essential when you’re trapped in a noisy room and need to focus. It’s worth spending extra for the perfect pair.”

Bowers & Wilkins headphones, $300 at amazon.com.

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Politics

JA S O N M C G A H A N

QAnon Is Ready For Its Close-Up

A FAST-GROWING GROUP OF CELEBRITY-CRAZED CONSPIRACY THEORISTS BELIEVES JFK JR. IS ALIVE, ADAM SCHIFF RUNS A SEX RING ON THE SUNSET STRIP, AND DONALD TRUMP IS GOD. FIVE OF THEM ARE RUNNING FOR CONGRESS IN CALIFORNIA L AT E L A S T J U N E , a visitor scrolling through the Wayfair website noticed something curious. Several ordinary-looking cabinets featured were listed at rather lofty price tags. Further examination revealed that the cabinets—and other seemingly price-inflated products—bore the names of girls such as Samiyah and Yaritza. In an ordinary world, such a discovery would not be remarkable: Ikea and other furniture retailers routinely name their products after women, the price for a steel cabinet can be surprisingly steep, and it turned out that a computer glitch had caused an incorrect price to be assigned to a Wayfair pillow.

4 8 L A M AG . C O M

But this is no ordinary time and that was no ordinary visitor. She was Amazing Polly, an influencer with QAnon— the cultish conspiracy movement obsessed with global elites and pedophilia. “My spidey senses are tingling,” Polly posted on Twitter. “What’s with these ‘storage cabinets?’” The post languished before resurfacing as a bizarre question in an obscure Reddit chat room devoted to conspiracy theories: was Wayfair trafficking children in overpriced cabinets? Seven days later, the multi-billion-dollar retail giant found itself at the center of a global conspiracy theory that claimed the company was running a massive child-sex-trafficking ring.

With the aid of thousands of self-styled “investigators,” I L LU S T R AT I O N BY E VA N S O L A NO

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speculation spread so hysterically on social media that scores of national news reporters investigated, and a national human-trafficking hotline was flooded with hundreds of calls, diverting resources from callers actually in need. Wayfair issued a statement denying it was a front for a human-trafficking ring, but believers dug in their heels, turning on Wayfair’s founder and his wife, embroidering new and ever more fantastic charges. Meanwhile, social-media influencers posted memes that matched the names of Wayfair products with those of girls listed in old missing-persons reports. Three days after the initial Reddit post, the Wayfair conspiracy theory had been mentioned on Twitter over 1.2 million times from 564,000 user accounts. One of the girls feared trafficked inside a Wayfair cabinet, Samiyah Mumin, posted a video on Facebook in which she slammed conspiracy theorists for taking attention away from a real problem: “Y’all know how many people is actually missing?”

It was the latest example of a modern phenomenon: politics and pedophilia and the internet descending suddenly on people and companies. Until recently, few knew much about QAnon, the right-wing conspiracy movement based on cryptic clues posted on the internet that portray a world in which Donald Trump works secretly to vanquish a coven of global elites, including top Democrats and Hollywood celebrities, who torture children, traffic them for sex, and even devour them. Flagged as a violent threat by the FBI, banned from Twitter and TikTok, and courted by the Trump campaign, QAnon is the most potent force in American politics that most Americans have never heard of. At this stage in its growth, QAnon “is driving conversation on the online right,” says Kevin Roose, the tech col-

umnist for the New York Times. “Many of the stories that end up trending on Twitter or Facebook are there because QAnon found them and pushed them.

It is a lot bigger and more influential than people realize.”

The basic premise of QAnon is this: “Q” is a top government insider close to Trump who possesses proof that global elites ensconced in the “deep state” secretly enslave and torture children and extract from their blood what they believe are life-extending chemicals.

Trump is working secretly to see that the evildoers are carted off to Guantánamo and hanged for their crimes. The enemies of QAnon are, in nearly every case, enemies of Trump, which experts say is not a coincidence. “At the end of the day, this conspiracy theory is targeting the Democratic establishment,” says Cristina López G., who studies QAnon for the liberal research group Media Matters for America. “To believe Q requires rejecting mainstream institutions, ignoring government officials, battling apostates, and despising the press,” wrote journalist Adrienne LaFrance in The Atlantic. “One of Q’s favorite rallying cries is ‘You are the news now.’ Another is ‘Enjoy the show,’ a phrase that his disciples regard as a reference to a coming apocalypse: When the world as we know it comes to an end, everyone’s a spectator.”

Trump, the thinking goes, is summoning—via Q—an online army of “digital soldiers”to b to be part of the Great Awakening, sometimes called the Second American Revolution, envisioned as the utopian unmasking of the global cabal that has been slowly suppressing our liberties since as far back as the assassination of JFK. Followers employ

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50 L A M AG . C O M

D E E P - E N D STAT E

Rep. Eric Swalwell will face QAnon believer Alison Hayden in the 2020 election. Hayden endorses QAnon theories that Kamela Harris uses a body double and that the coronavirus pandemic was a “planned event.”

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numerology and Illuminati symbols to decode the cryptic messages Q leaves on anonymous message boards. Alison Hayden, a QAnon believer running for California representative Eric Swalwell’s seat in Congress, told me she is optimistic QAnon will bring “cures for cancer” and halt “technologies of light and sound manipulation that make us crazy and angry.”

Although QAnon is a national phenomenon, California—birthplace of movements from Reaganism to Satanic Panic—has been especially fertile ground. So it’s not surprising that five of the dozen or so congressional candidates on the November ballot who identify with QAnon hail from California. For one thing, the movement is obsessed with Hollywood. No group since the Church of Scientology has turned the American hunger for celebrity to greater advantage. But where Scientology opened celebrity centers to recruit stars like John Travolta and Tom Cruise, and used them as pitchmen for its oft-maligned and equally bizarre belief system, QAnon does the opposite: it targets stars as enemies toward whom believers can vent their personal hatreds. If Scientology is the cult of celebrity, QAnon is the cult of anti-celebrity. Says Will Sommer, a staff writer for the Daily Beast who has covered QAnon since it emerged from a trollish corner of the internet in 2017, “Q takes the classic idea of Hollywood as this decadent and depraved sort of Babylon and pushes it to the most baroque, exaggerated extreme.”

O O O O

QANON IS THE BIG -BUDGET

sequel to Pizzagate, the viral phenomenon rooted in a sinister reading of emails hacked from the personal account of Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager, John Podesta. When the FBI declared QAnon a domestic terrorism threat last year, the intelligence bulletin emphasized individuals “claiming to act as ‘researchers’ or ‘investigators’ [who] single out people, businesses, or groups which they falsely accuse of being involved in the imagined scheme.”

That’s what happened in 2016 after a self-declared FBI insider on 4chan declared that the phrase “cheese pizza” in the Clinton emails was a secret code for child pornography. Alex Jones hyped it as a real thing on Infowars, and an enraged North Carolina ware-

house worker named Edgar Maddison Welch drove 300 miles to the Washington pizzeria Comet Ping Pong and fired a military-style assault rifle inside, believing he was saving victims of child trafficking. “The intel on this wasn’t a hundred percent,” Welch later told the New York Times from jail.

QAnon co-opted the characters and storylines of Pizzagate the way a Hollywood studio co-opts a hit indie film, says Travis View, host of the podcast QAnon Anonymous. And though Pizzagate wilted for a time, the trollish “chan culture” of anonymous internet forums from which it emerged reinforced its generative premise: judgment is near for devil-worshipping elites who defile children. With QAnon, the stakes are raised and the saga gets an improbable hero.

During a White House dinner for military commanders on October 5, 2017, Trump made a mysterious comment that got conspiracy theorists talking.

Gesturing to his guests, Trump said: “You guys know what this represents?

Maybe it’s the calm before the storm.”

He didn’t elaborate.

Then, on October 28, someone appeared on the anonymous image board 4chan claiming to be a military or intelligence insider with “Q”-level clearance—an actual government security designation that allows access to top secret documents—and loyal ties to Trump. “HRC extradition already in motion effective yesterday with several countries in case of cross border run,” begins the series of messages, predicting that the arrest of Hillary Clinton was imminent. The prediction was wrong, of course. But the notion that a super-secret government agent was feeding intelligence directly to the American public took off. Image boards like 4chan, 8chan, and 8kun, designed to conceal the real names of users, greatly enhanced the mystique of the poster, now widely known as Q. There is no way for social-media users to know who Q is. Whoever is posting as Q uses a password-protected account that produces a unique ID, visible to other users. This is how forumgoers can verify that the account posting “Q drops” is the same over time.

Q was initially believed to be one person, but it is now accepted that multiple people, in cooperation, are posting using the pseudonym, says Harvard researcher Brian Friedberg. Whoever it

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may be, Q today is the Dungeon Masing to be executed. (This conspiracy theter of the internet’s eeriest role-playing ory, which the FBI has deemed a violent game. “With QAnon, you have this perinspiration to domestic extremists, has son putting out these clues in an onsupport from all 14 candidates, accordgoing way, so there’s something to foling to Media Matters.) low along with,” says Joseph Uscinski, “It’s digital soldiers amalgamata political scientist at the University ing information—you wouldn’t otherof Miami and co-author of American wise know about various topics that Conspiracy Theories. are swirling the inter“There’s an online sense net with a conservative of group belonging, with viewpoint that supa chant and an oath. ports the president,” They feel like part of Hayden says. Asked for current events—what’s examples, she refers going on right now and to claims that Senator in the future.” Tech reKamala Harris uses a searchers and journalbody double, the coroists have likened QAnon navirus outbreak was On July 4, to a massive multiplayer a “planned event,” and President online game. “QAnon is the Chinese armed Trump popular partly because Black Lives Matter acretweeted the act of ‘researching’ tivists with AK-47s. through obscure foHow anyone takes accounts rums and videos and any of this seriously is a linked to blog posts, though more testament to the success QAnon time-consuming than of what former Harvard theory watching TV, is actualresearcher Benjamin T. ly more enjoyable beDecker, chief executive 14 times. cause it’s an active proof a company that incess,” Adrian Hon, chief vestigates online disinexecutive of the gaming formation, calls “concompany Six to Start and a designer of spiracy entrepreneurs”—hucksters who alternate reality games, said in a Twitmake money pushing Q-content on Qter post. related podcasts, chat rooms, and YouWhen the pandemic brought radical Tube channels. “It’s as much about the changes to Alison Hayden’s daily life, the economy of the conspiracy as the con60-year-old special-education teacher spiracy itself,” Decker says. turned increasingly to QAnon to make Where would QAnon be today had sense of it all. “Just kind of popped up on Roseanne Barr not given it a platform YouTube” was how she joined the Great in 2018? Barr blew up ABC’s hit reAwakening. Today she is one of an estiboot of her show when she amplified mated 14 candidates for U.S. Congress QAnon in tweets glorifying Trump for who identify with the movement that supposedly having “broken up traffickbelieves JFK Jr. is still alive, Hillary Clining rings in high places everywhere.” Acton is on trial, and Justin Trudeau is gotor James Woods has retweeted baseless

Posts by QAnon groups on Facebook have increased 67 percent since March 2020. The rate of posts per week has jumped by 791 percent.

Since March 2020, Twitter has recorded a 126 percent increase in QAnon-related tweets and a 176 percent rise in unique authors tweeting about QAnon.

16.3M

1.57M

941.1K

7.2M

(7,410/week)

SOURCE: CrowdTangle 2020

5 2 L A M AG . C O M

Oct. 2017 — March 2020

(1.2M)

(66,030/week) (434K)

Since March 2020

Sept 2019 — March 2020

Since March 2020

G E T T Y I M AG E S

Conspiracy of Dunces: QAnon and Social Media

conspiracy theories linking Los Angeles congressman Adam Schiff to child-sex trafficking. Porn star Jenna Jameson, another QAnon believer, claimed that The Hunt, a satire about rich liberals who abduct right-wing deplorables and pick them off for sport, was real. In a social-media post, Jameson claimed she overheard a hunt for children being discussed at the Hotel du Cap in Cannes.

“Yet you collaborated to defame the only man who is fighting against them,” one guy wrote back. To which Jameson replied, “I’m not Stormy, you imbecile.”

Keeping up with QAnon where Hollywood is concerned is an exercise in contradiction. Followers “tend to have a disdain for Hollywood, so much so that they think Hollywood is running satanic pedophile rings,” Uscinski says. “I’ve seen strains of this theory suggesting they turn child actors into shoes.” Yet QAnon also uses movies as the basis of theories and ideas, he points out.

QAnon conflates strains of pedophilia panic that overwhelm the U.S. every 20 years or so with conspiracy theories that have been around for centuries, like the myth popular in Europe during the Middle Ages that Jews murdered gentile babies and used their blood for rituals. The life-extending elixir that QAnon followers believe is extracted from the blood of children by the global elite is called “adrenochrome,” which can be traced to the scene in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas when Johnny Depp, as Hunter S. Thompson, hallucinates after supposedly ingesting the compound.

Two of the most popular QAnon rallying cries, “The calm before the storm” and “Where we go one, we go all,” can be heard in the trailer for director Ridley Scott’s forgettable 1996 sailing drama, White Squall. (The top comment on a

M I N D YO U R Q ’S Center: On a Fox News show hosted by Jesse Watters, Eric Trump agreed with Watters’

FOX N E WS : S C R E E N G R A B ; A N T H O N Y CO M E L LO : A P I M AG E S

contention that QAnon has “uncovered a lot of great stuff.” Right: Anthony Comello—with a QAnon symbol on his hand—is charged with murdering a mobster he claimed was part of a deep state conspiracy.

YouTube post for the trailer—“Thumbs up if Q sent you here”—has been liked 5,700 times.) The premise of The Matrix—that reality as we know it is a vast, artificially controlled simulation—resonates well with Q’s worldview, says Marc-André Argentino, a Ph.D. candidate at Concordia University who is writing a book about QAnon. “The Matrix’s blue-pill/red-pill scene is used to frame the choice to either be a part of the Great Awakening or to remain ‘asleep,’” Argentino writes in Religion Dispatches. (As top QAnon influencer Joe M. put it, “Everything is staged and you are watching a movie.”)

“Someone do a movie on these pathetic NUTCASES I beg you,” model Chrissy Teigen tweeted from deep inside an online “swarm” of QAnon followers in July. QAnon scours the social-media feeds of Hollywood stars like Teigen, Tom Hanks, and Oprah Winfrey, looking for clues that they are linked to the late sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. “Finding me talking about toddlers and tiaras in 2013 and thinking you’re some sort of fucking operative,” Teigen wrote to one.

At the peak of the barrage, the mother of two blocked more than a million user accounts and deleted 60,000 of her old tweets. Within days, Twitter permanently suspended 7,000 QAnon accounts on the platform, restricted 150,000 more, and banned Q-related terms from appearing in trending topics.

After Hanks contracted the coronavirus, a QAnon influencer and convicted bank robber named Tommy Gelati, who once cohosted a Barstool Sports podcast with actor Michael Rapaport, began speculating that Hanks’s haircut proved that he was secretly hosting Saturday Night Live from prison. After a producer randomly appeared in a window on the set of The Ellen DeGe-

neres Show, QAnon influencers speculated that he was a police officer and that DeGeneres was under house arrest.

“Just got a phone call that my name is trending. And being trolled for some awful FAKE thing,” Oprah Winfrey tweeted on March 17, after a conspiracy theory embraced by the QAnon community claimed she was arrested in a global sex-trafficking ring. “It’s NOT TRUE. Haven’t been raided, or arrested.

Just sanitizing and self-distancing with the rest of the world.” A Facebook post from June shared more than 32,000 times reads, “It’s crazy many ppl don’t know Oprahm on house arrest for Sex trafficking kids, as well as Ellen, Tom Hanks, Clinton’s.” Also widely circulated is the “arrest/execution list,” which name-checks the entire cast of Friends as “arrested & waiting tribunal,” except for Courtney Cox, who is “arrested & under house arrest.” When celebrities posted videos of themselves from lockdown looking less than put together, QAnon gurus speculated about an “adrenochrome shortage.” When Hanks contracted COVID-19, his name went on a list of presumed members of the sextrafficking cabal, as did Lady Gaga’s, for advocating social distancing.

There is a limit to how much harm a QAnon Twitter swarm can inflict on an A-list celebrity. But the situation was more dire for a young woman randomly targeted by QAnon last year. Q posted an old photo of the woman to 8chan showing her on a plane with Bill Clinton. “Epstein’s plane,” Q wrote with no proof. “Who is she? Follow friends.

Friends lead to others. Open source.”

With that, she was pursued around the clock like the final woman alive to confront the killer in a slasher film. Once someone is cast as a recurring character in the canon of QAnon, the doxxing and

threats may subside, but they never end.

According to police, belief in QAnon has inspired at least ten violent incidents, including two murders, a kidnapping, vandalism of a church, and am armed standoff near the Hoover Dam. Lawyers for the man charged in the 2019 killing of a Gambino crime family underboss say their client, Anthony Comello, is obsessed with conspiracy theories and believed the victim, Francesco “Franky Boy” Cali, was a member of the “deep state.” (Comello previously attempted to make a citizen’s arrest of Adam Schiff and Maxine Waters.) At the Hoover Dam, a man using an armored car to block traffic held up a sign that read, “Release the OIG report,” referring to a “secret” Justice Department brief QAnon had led him to believe was stashed at the dam. (No such report existed.)

O O O O

I N A N A G E W H E R E the president of

the United States is a “birther” and has tweeted conspiracy theories or fringe content more than 145 times while in office, it is unsurprising that QAnon has a friend in the West Wing. On the July 4th holiday, before Trump spoke to the nation from the White House lawn, he retweeted accounts linked to the QAnon theory 14 times, Politico reported. In August, the Washington Post noted an apparent convergence between Trump’s inner circle and an ever-widening cohort of QAnon believers. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro delighted Q followers in June when he wore a Q flag pin during an interview on Fox News. (“Wow!!!!!” rejoiced one follower on Twitter. “@PeterNavarro45 is wearing a flag pin with Q on it. I have one too.”) Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, recorded a video of himself on July 4th in which he holds up his right hand and recites an oath associated with QAnon, including “Where we go one, we go all.” During an interview on Fox News with Trump’s middle son, Eric, when host Jesse Watters praised QAnon for having “uncovered a lot of great stuff,” Trump replied, “Yeah.” Meanwhile, recent ads from the Trump reelection campaign in Nevada and Arizona feature shots of Trump followers sporting QAnon gear, and the director of press communications for Trump’s reelection campaign, Erin Perrine, appeared as a guest on Patriots’ Soapbox 24/7, a YouTube call-in show devoted to cover- (CONTINUED ON PAGE 99) L A M AG . C O M 53

Vanities

JOEL STEIN

L A V I E E N RO U G E

Thanks to Zoom and Instagram, macho makeup brands have seen their sales double since the lockdown. Our correspondent tried out the leading brands.

investment opportunity in Gillette. In this era of tightly fitted shirts and gelled Mohawks, I can’t understand why men don’t care what our faces look like. If makeup could be used to make our penises look bigger, we’d all have urinary tract infections.

Of course, men’s makeup isn’t new. Mick Jagger dabbed some on because he was rebellious, David Bowie slathered on a lot more to signify gender-bending, metal bands wore it to scare their fans’ parents, and Pete Wentz, Jared Leto, and Adam Lambert wore eyeliner because they had lovely eyes. “Up until the French Revolution, things like wigs, rouge, powder, and face patches were unisex,” says Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, a fashion historian who wrote Fashion Victims: Dress at the Court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette.

“They were signs of wealth and good taste rather than gender. Ancient Egyptian men were not afraid of a smoky eye.” If Alexander the Great wore makeup, why couldn’t we?

It turns out that more and more men are indeed wearing makeup. After testing the product in ten stores last year, CVS announced in June that it will carry concealer by Stryx, a line for men, in a quarter of its stores. A poll late last year by Morning Consult showed that about a third of American men under 45 would consider COMPANIES FROM CHANEL TO CVS ARE MARKETING MAKEUP trying makeup. Chanel sells an eyebrow pencil and foundation under its dude line, FOR MEN. BUT CAN THEY REALLY GET BROS TO LOVE BRONZER? Boy de Chanel. For $109, Rihanna’s makeup brand, Fenty, sells a kit for men that includes WAS FACING A CRISIS OF MASCULINITY. foundation, a skin stick, blotting paper, and blotting powder.

I could go back to the makeup room, have the The new boom in men’s-makeup sales is an outgrowth of CNN makeup artist remove the gunk from my a culture that increasingly puts a premium on male vanity. A face, and be even later for my meeting than I few decades ago, it was considered shallow or effete to focus already was. But caring about taking off makeup on clothes or haircuts. Now men are almost as objectified as seemed as vain as wearing it. So I left. The first thing the guy women, and how attractive we look has a big impact on our I was meeting said was that I looked young. I don’t remember professional and personal success. I, for instance, only got this the second thing he said, but it wasn’t, “Are you wearing assignment because I am unspeakably handsome. makeup?” I never again took TV makeup off after a show.

Male makeup is already acceptable in South Korea, Japan, I didn’t know what the different kinds of makeup were and Republican political circles. John Boehner surely buys his called, how to put them on, or what they were trying to bronzer at Costco, while Donald Trump apparently prefers accomplish. I remember one makeup artist saying somemore upmarket brands. In an interview last year, his housething about shine, but I wasn’t sure if shine was good or bad. keepers revealed the president is partial to Bronx Colors Another mentioned my nasolabial folds, and I mistakenly Boosting Hydrating Concealer in orange, imported in bulk from thought she was coming on to me. All I knew was that it no a company in the UK. But notwithstanding Trump’s enthusilonger made sense that I wasn’t wearing makeup every day. astic endorsement, men’s makeup still accounts for less than If you had told me when I was a teenager in the 1980s, 1 percent of America’s cosmetics market. watching Aerosmith, Prince, and Twisted Sister videos, that To ease the transition, Stryx turned to Prime Studios, the in the next century straight men would either be wearing marketing company that created Axe’s “shower tool” loofah. makeup or shaving their pubes, I would never have missed an According to Stryx’s 25-year-old cofounder, Devir Kahan,

Trading Faces

54 L A M AG . C O M

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Stryx’s makeup is rugged. “Men’s skin is different from women’s skin,” Kahan says. “It’s thicker, more oily. Much tougher. So our stuff is tougher, too. It can stand up to sweat.” This is makeup you can talk shit to in the locker room and not worry about getting canceled.

The male-makeup market has expanded because even the most macho among us are constantly having our photos posted online. While Stryx’s sales plummeted the first two weeks of the lockdown, since then sales have been 50 percent higher than before.

“We see a lot of guys come in because they’re staring at their faces all day on Zoom,” says Kahan. But sales have also grown due to Gen Z’s gender fluidity.

Still, men’s makeup companies try really hard to butch it up. Formen, a makeup brand that really wants you to know it’s for men, has a deer antler in its logo. It’s a 13-point buck—the kind you take a photo with that you keep forever.

The kind where you want your skin to look flawless. British men’s makeup company War Paint released an ad so stereotypically masculine—tattoos on top of tattoos, skull ring—that they

took it down after being accused of With so many options available, toxic masculinity. Stryx designed its I ordered a bunch of makeup to up my concealer to look like a pen, and refers game, even though my game is never to it as a “tool.” Mënaji, which has leaving my house. The first thing I felt been making men’s makeup since the upon “unboxing” my stash (which is dawn of the metrosexual, calls their the influencer term for opening concealer “camo.” packages) was disapBut over time, Mënaji pointment. I longed for has seen less need for a different kinds of makeup It ships in tough-guy act. “If I show a for different occasions: discreet, concealer stick to a dude day, night, casual, cockin his fifties, he’ll first tail, professional, sexy, masculine ask me, ‘What is it?’” says sassy. Instead all I got packages Mënaji president Pamela ways to cover up that bear no were Viglielmo. “Then he’ll say the blemishes on my face. mention of ‘No, thanks.’ But if I show Male makeup, it turns the words a concealer stick to a guy out, is mainly for hiding. in his twenties, not only “makeup” or It’s functional, not fun. will he know what it is, but As basic as it was, I “cosmetics.” he’ll grab it to see if it’s his didn’t know how to use it. shade.” Formen used to be So I watched some videos. careful to ship in discreet, First, I dabbed on some manly packages that bear no mention of Formen’s moisturizer. Then I put on the words “makeup” or “cosmetics.” “In some CC cream, which stands for the beginning, men were squeamish,” “color correcting”—not a fun phrase, founder Andrew Grella says about but instead a term you use as an excuse customers who emailed him concerned to not show your bad film to the press. about the packaging. “Nowadays nobody When I was done, my face looked gives a shit.” exactly as it did before.

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Then things got real. I twisted a dropper off a skull-shaped bottle of foundation and dabbed a splotch on my forehead, nose, and chin. I massaged it in, like the box advised, taking pains to spread it evenly down my neck. To my surprise, I started looking a bit better.

My Homer Simpson frown lines looked less obvious. Then I picked up the under-eye concealer. It was divided into three colors, none of them remotely human. So I watched another video that said that if the bags under my eyes were red, I should use green. If my bags were blue or purple, then yellow was for me. To erase yellow, I’d dab on some purple. It’s complicated.

At some point during this intricate process it occurred to me that for 49 years, I’d never really studied my face.

But now that I was really looking at myself and my flaws, they were all I could think about. Suddenly, my face looked like a planet with craters, valleys, volcanoes, coronas, and veins of ore. Maybe I could spackle over it? I smeared yellow under my eyes to cover up the thick blue vein I’d never seen, and green around my nose to hide the Clintonian red hollows.

I took out a concealer stick and dabbed a scratch on my neck I don’t remember getting, and some red thing that wasn’t a pimple but also wasn’t not a pimple. I was older than I thought. Now I couldn’t get all these thoughts about my face out of my head. One application of concealer and I instantly understood feminism.

Before I was confident enough to show my new face in public, I got a Zoom makeup tutorial from Tom Sandoval, an actor on Vanderpump Rules and an investor in Stryx. Sandoval, who is straight, gets hit up by guy friends for makeup all the time. “I have a friend with dark circles. But when he asks me about product, it’s like he’s trying to buy some crazy drugs off me,” he says.

Sandoval had me put on tinted moisturizer, which is a lot like foundation.

Then I rubbed concealer under my eyes, over my eyes and right on my eyelids. He had me use a lighter color than my skin.

“You want to brighten your eyes. You want to draw attention to them,” he said.

The next day I put on makeup as Sandoval had instructed. I thought the whole process would take 30 minutes, but it took less than five. I could do this! I was scared to come out of the bathroom, but luckily my wife wasn’t around, so I could sneak into my office unseen. I took a deep breath, logged

onto a Zoom meeting about a TV show I was developing, and pressed the “show video” button. But nobody said a word about how I looked. So I asked if they noticed anything new about me. One woman asked if I had something on my lips, which I did not. Another asked if I clicked the “touch up my appearance” function on Zoom, which I hadn’t known about. When I told them I was wearing makeup, they were unimpressed.

I couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt.

Emboldened after the meeting, I

sought out my wife and 11-year-old son and asked what they thought.

They both said I looked great. And then they got excited about trying the different colors on my face. Soon there were streaks of light cognac, medium mahogany, and dark eclipse. It was fun. I felt celebrated.

I’m going to keep using the concealer.

And when I’m on camera, the powder. It was a relief to realize that no one really cares what I have on my face. The awful part is that now I do.

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At Echo Horizon, we prioritize the elementary school experience by creating a safe, inclusive community where children don’t have to grow up too quickly. ,JOV»Z KP]LYZL ZJOVSHYZ JVTL MYVT KPќLYLU[ aPW JVKLZ ^P[OPU 3 ( *V\U[` and 50 percent of our students identify as people of color. Upon graduation, V\Y L_JLW[PVUHS HS\TUP NV [V [OL [VW 3 ( HYLH TPKKSL ZJOVVSZ Fifteen percent of our students are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). Our DHH students use hearing technology and grow up alongside their hearing peers.

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THE STATS

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Year Founded: 1983 Grades Served: 7YL 2¶ Current Enrollment Number: 180 Student-Faculty Ratio: ! 7YL 2" ! 2" ! .YHKLZ ¶ Graduation Rate: 100% Uniforms Required (Yes or No): No Tuition: 7YL 2" .YHKLZ 2¶

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THE HELP GROUP SCHOOLS :OLYTHU 6HRZ =HSSL` .SLU =HU 5\`Z *\S]LY *P[` HUK 0Y]PUL (877) 943-5747 | thehelpgroup.org Open House: Schedule an appointment at admissions@thehelpgroup.org -V\UKLK PU ;OL /LSW .YV\W PZ [OL SHYNLZ[ TVZ[ PUUV]H[P]L HUK JVTWYLOLUZP]L UVUWYVÃ&#x201E;[ VM P[Z RPUK PU [OL <UP[LK :[H[LZ ZLY]PUN JOPSKYLU adolescents, and young adults with special needs related to autism spectrum disorder, learning disabilities, ADHD, developmental delays, abuse, and emotional challenges. ;OL /LSW .YV\W Z [LU ZWLJPHSPaLK KH` ZJOVVSZ VÑ&#x153;LY WYLZJOVVS LSLTLU[HY` TPKKSL ZJOVVS OPNO ZJOVVS HUK [YHUZP[PVU WYVNYHTZ HUK HYL JLY[PÃ&#x201E;LK I` [OL *HSPMVYUPH :[H[L +LWHY[TLU[ VM ,K\JH[PVU ;OL ZJOVVSZ SVJH[LK VU Ã&#x201E;]L JHTW\ZLZ PU the Los Angeles area and Irvine, provide prescriptive teaching, small classes, individualized curriculum, and enrichment activities to maximize learning. ([ [OL OLHY[ VM P[Z LÑ&#x153;VY[Z PZ [OL JVTTP[TLU[ [V OLSWPUN `V\UN WLVWSL M\SÃ&#x201E;SS [OLPY potential to lead positive, productive, and rewarding lives.

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Year Founded: 1975 Grades Served: Pre-K-12 Current Enrollment Number: 1,400 Student-Faculty Ratio: 7:1 minimum Tuition: Private and public funding accepted

Accreditations: *LY[PÃ&#x201E;LK I` [OL *HSPMVYUPH :[H[L +LWHY[TLU[ VM ,K\JH[PVU" >(:* 5VY[O /PSSZ 7YLW :;,4ö (JHKLT` :\TTP[ =PL^ :JOVVS =PSSHNL .SLU :JOVVS >LZ[]PL^ :JOVVS VM [OL (Y[Z

MIRMAN SCHOOL 16180 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90049 (310) 476-2868 | mirman.org Open House: Sign up for virtual tours and admission events at mirman.org/admission Mirmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission is to cultivate the boundless potential of highly gifted children, nurture their passions and talents, and develop a diverse community of creative and constructive lifelong learners. A Mirman education encompasses all dimensions of childhood: creative, kinesthetic, artistic, and academic.

Mirman is one of the only places in the country where these remarkable children can truly be among their peers. Highly gifted is a clinical term applied to people in the top one percent of intelligence norms, so determining if a child PZ OPNOS` NPM[LK YLX\PYLZ 08 [LZ[PUN ;OLZL SLHYULYZ VM[LU OH]L ULLKZ ZWLJPÃ&#x201E;J [V [OLPY [HSLU[Z I\[ [OLYL PZ UV ¸VUL ZPaL Ã&#x201E;[Z HSS¹ HWWYVHJO [V V\Y Z[\KLU[Z 6\Y highly trained teaching faculty work together to help each child thrive.

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Year Founded: 1962 Grades Served: Kâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;8 Current Enrollment Number: 330 Student-Faculty Ratio: 5:1 Uniforms Required (Yes or No): Yes Tuition: Lower School: $32,915 Upper School: $36,446

Top Awards/Recognitions: 4PYTHU VÑ&#x153;LYZ YLUV^ULK WYVNYHTZ PU JYLH[P]L HUK performing arts, sciences, and athletics including our Concert Singers (think WLYMVYTHUJLZ H[ *HYULNPL /HSS " V\Y UH[PVUHSS` SH\KLK `LHYIVVR Z[HÑ&#x153;" HUK Z[YVUNS` JVTWL[P[P]L HJHKLTPJ [LHTZ PU [OL Ã&#x201E;LSKZ VM ZJPLUJL 3H[PU TH[O HUK TVYL .YHK\H[LZ go on to attend selective secondary schools, colleges, and universities nationwide.

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VISTAMAR SCHOOL 737 Hawaii Street, El Segundo, CA 90245 (310) 643-7377 | vistamarschool.org Virtual Open House: October 24, December 12, and January 9 Vistamar is a college-preparatory school committed to the idea that there’s a better way to do high school. Vistamar builds independent thinkers with diverse viewpoints who are better prepared for college and the world beyond. Students learn to balance academic rigor with their passions, supported by a strong community.

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6 0 L A M AG . C O M

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M u s t b e a g e 2 1 + t o a t t e n d . P l e a s e d o n â&#x20AC;&#x2122; t d r i n k a n d d r i ve . A l ways we a r yo u r s e a t b e l t . E ve n t d e t a i l s s u b j e c t t o c h a n g e .

THE CONFESSIONS OF KATIE HILL She went from a 29-year-old political novice, to flipping one of California’s most reliably red congressional districts, to a scandal tinged with revenge porn that drove her from office after ten months.

In this exclusive excerpt from her justpublished memoir, Hill recounts her surreal days and sleepless nights as she contemplated whether to resign, fight on—or end her life

P H O T O G R A P H Y BY S C O T T S U C H M A N

Katie Hill, photographed at her Washington DC apartment, July 2020.

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wing website called RedState, the hammer that had been hovering—the threat to “ruin” me—finally dropped. I didn’t quite accept it until a few days later, but the future I had imagined as a leader in Congress, the job I was good at and loved and knew I was making a difference by doing, was over.

I was thinking about all of this as I went to see my lawyers. Then the train suddenly stopped. We sat there for a long time, and it was finally announced that someone had jumped in front of us. It O N N O V E M B E R 6 , 2 01 8 , I was elected to Congress as was a fatality. My thoughts shifted to the one of the youngest women ever. One year later, I was sitting person on the tracks while we waited for on a train to New York to meet with my newly hired victims’ the police to investigate, for the coroner rights attorneys about suing the Daily Mail for cyber exploitato come. I know the despair that leads tion—and I was no longer a member of Congress. Sitting on someone to that place all too well. I had that train just a couple of days after my resignation had taken been there just a week before. effect, I realized that it was one year, almost to the minute, I announced my resignation knowing it from when I’d received the call from my predecessor to conwas the right thing to do, the right decision cede, the day I found out that we had done what many said for me, my family, my staff, my colleagues, was impossible—we had flipped a historically red congresmy community. But that didn’t make it sional district. I was going to be a congresswoman. any easier, and in the days that followed, Within a matter of weeks of being elected, I was one of a I was completely overwhelmed by everyhandful of people working closely with Speaker Nancy Pelosi thing: how many people had seen my naand the most powerful Democrats in the House. But, oddly, ked body, the comments, the articles, the I knew I belonged there; I didn’t feel awkward or unsure. I millions of opinions, the texts, the calls, the threats. I would was confident. Don’t get me wrong, the job was hard. I had start shaking, crying, throwing up. It was hard to talk to my made plenty of mistakes. But I was figuring it out fast. I was family because I knew they were going through so much, too. good at this. So much hard work by so many people went into I didn’t want to talk to my friends because I was humiliated, flipping my district and getting me elected to Congress, and I didn’t want to hear more pity, and I just didn’t know what it felt good to be able to deliver for them. to say. Many of my staff had been with me for years at this But my home life was another story. That day on the train point, and we were, for better or for worse, very close. Now I was also five months to the day from when I moved out of felt like they all hated me. my house and told my husband, whom I’d been with since I didn’t leave my sparse DC apartment. I felt so alone and I was 16 years old, that I wanted a divorce. On that day in didn’t know what to do. It was two days after I announced June, my dad, a cop, came with me to our house because I was my resignation. I don’t even know how I spent the day. Probafraid to go alone. My husband was unpredictable, had dealt ably reading articles (and comments on those articles) about with substance abuse issues at various times in his life, owned myself that I shouldn’t have read or noticing the silence of my guns, and was incredibly controlling. Of course, I was afraid. I colleagues. I was grateful that “the squad” (representatives got my things, moved in with my mom, and didn’t look back.

Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Alexandria But when I’d tried to leave before, my husband had said Ocasio-Cortez) immediately came out in support of me, but that he would ruin me. That threat itself was abusive, and the only other vocal defender I had was Republican represenkept me in the relationship for far too long. Knowing that he tative Matt Gaetz, one of Trump’s strongest allies in Congress. could make good on it was the reason I always To the surprise and criticism of many in his went back. Midway through my first year in own party, Matt stuck his neck out for me, and Congress, though, I reached the point when I will always appreciate him for that. I underEDITOR’S NOTE I knew I couldn’t keep going. I had to get out. stood why my other colleagues stayed quiet This story contains But those words “I’ll ruin you” hung over publicly, but it hurt nonetheless. graphic descriptions my head every day after I moved out. I knew I ignored more text messages and calls and of self-harm that could distress some the risk when I left, but I felt I didn’t have a fell in and out of a restless sleep. But when it readers. Lifeline choice. Despite the looming threat, being out got dark, I drew a bath, lit candles, and brought Network— of that house, away from him, made me feel over a whole bottle of wine. It might have been 800-273-8255— better than I had in years. my second bottle of the day . . . I’m not sure. offers free emotional counseling 24 hours a The day my staff ran into my office and I lay in the bath and thought about what day, seven days a week showed me the nude photos and private text I’d lost. The betrayal. The people on my team messages that had been published on a rightand in my life who had been hurt, although 64 L A M AG . C O M

HOUSE O F PA I N

TOP: WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES; BOTTOM: AP PHOTO/CLIFF OWEN

Left: Hill departs the U.S. Capitol following her resignation speech in October 2019. Below: Hill with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at her swearing in, January 2019. Holding the Bible is Hill’s thenhusband, Kenny Heslep, whom she alleges made public intimate photos that sparked a careerending scandal.

they’d done nothing wrong. Everyone I’d let down, everyone who worked for me, who campaigned for me, who believed in me. The future I’d thought was in store for me was suddenly and irrevocably gone. I was grappling with, and felt endlessly guilty about, my own responsibility in my downfall and knew that there were other factors at play below the surface that people could just never understand. And those pictures—no one should have ever seen those. I didn’t even know many of them existed, seeing them for the first time with the rest of the world.

How could I ever face anyone again, knowing what they’d seen? What they knew?

The bathwater had gone cold. The wine bottle was empty.

Suddenly and with total clarity I just wanted it all to be over.

I got up and looked for the box cutter, dripping water all over the floor. I couldn’t find it. A part of my brain was saying, “Stop it. This is stupid. You’re not going to do it; go drain the bathtub and get your shit together.” But I felt like I was out of my body, like it was moving without me. I got a paring knife —not quite as sharp as a box cutter, but I figured it would do—and got back into the cold bath.

I stared at the veins in my wrists. They were so thin. They were green in the candlelight. I started tracing them with the edge of the knife, lightly at first, then pushing harder and harder. The knife was duller than I thought. It surprised me how hard I had to push to even scratch the surface. Fine red lines started to appear and I knew that if I pushed just a tiny bit harder, I would start to bleed. A couple of droplets started to form on the surface of my skin, like when a leak is beginning to come through the ceiling: one drip at a time, but you know the crack is coming soon. This wasn’t the first time I’d

hovered at that edge, thinking it should all just end, knowing how I’d do it, and knowing I could, whenever I wanted to. A little more than a year before, I’d come so close.

That time, it was late at night on my way home, in the final stretch of the campaign. I hated going home. I had known for a long time that my relationship with my husband was bad. I knew that M, the woman who had worked on my campaign, and with whom I’d developed a relationship despite my better judgment, was sucked into it now, and it was my fault for exposing her to it in the first place. But I thought there was no way I could escape: we had a house and animals and a backstory that had become part of the campaign. There was the public perception and the money and the logistics and the things my husband took care of that I just didn’t how I’d do with only a month left until Election Day, let alone after.

Every night was a horrible fight. He said the most vicious and demeaning things to me, and he was getting less stable and much scarier. He wouldn’t get help, and he said everything was my fault. People had no idea from the outside. I pretended everything at home was fine, and I looked like a successful candidate about to win an election and make history, but my life was held together by a thread and I was hanging on by a fingernail.

I’d driven past the big oak tree just off the side of the remote highway on the way to my rural house twice a day nearly L A M AG . C O M 65

every day for years. The tree had been struck by lightning away and saying no, and he was in my face and I was backed years ago, and there was a burn scar that looked just like into a corner in the room, and in that moment I knew beyond the Virgin Mary. People often came to pray at that spot, and a shadow of a doubt that I would not be OK if I stayed there. would leave flowers and candles and framed pictures and But I felt paralyzed. beads. But recently I had started to feel it beckoning to me Eventually he stormed out of the house with the gun. I took in a menacing but somehow hypnotic way. I would take a a sleeping pill and prayed that he wouldn’t drink too much different route as often as I could to avoid passing it, because and come in and start raging again with a loaded gun in his that feeling scared me. But then I started taking the highway hand. I almost locked the door to our bedroom that night, again, as though the burn scar was sending me magnetic sigbut I knew that if he tried to come in and found it locked, it nals I couldn’t resist. I would stare at it every time I passed would be so much worse. And he could get in anyway. I don’t and think about being held in the comforting arms of the remember falling asleep, but I guess I did.

Blessed Mother, and closing my eyes forever.

When I got up, I found him sleeping in the guest bedroom That night driving home, the dark music and the dark sky at the back of the house. I recognized that this could be my and the dark road and the feeling of depletion and of being moment to leave, since I knew I’d never be able to do it with trapped added up, and before I realized what I was doing, him there and he was never gone when I was home. So beI’d taken off my seat belt and was pressing all the way down fore I could talk myself out of it, I packed up everything from on the gas pedal and driving straight toward the tree. But our room that I thought I’d need, but that wouldn’t be too after a few seconds, when the speedometer hit 80 and I was obvious—I didn’t want him to have any heads-up that I wasn’t a couple hundred yards from the tree, I thought of my family, coming back. When I got on the road, I called my mom and whose lives I would ruin if I did it. I thought of how it would asked if I could come stay with her for a while. She was very destroy the various religious offerings and how people might worried, of course, but I said I was fine and I would tell her stop praying there and might even lose their faith. I thought more when I saw her that night. The next person I called was of my dogs and how I’d never said goodbye. I thought of my my campaign manager, who had to not only help manage staff and all the volunteers and how we wouldn’t be able to the logistical challenges and fallout this might create for the flip the district because there wouldn’t even be a Democrat on campaign, but who also had become a tremendous friend and the ballot, and what if ours was the district that determined support to me as well. whether we got the majority in the House?

All day, my husband texted me, apologizing for the night beI braked hard and swerved back onto the curve of the road fore, and sent memes and I love yous and lots of smiley emojis. before it was too late. I fumbled with my seat belt as I buckled I replied more or less as I normally would, not wanting him back up, then pulled over and caught my breath. I drove home to suspect anything. But when I finished my campaign events in silence with the windows down, trying to keep the car unthat evening, I crafted a long text about how I wasn’t coming der control with my hands shaking on the steering wheel. home. I tried to articulate why and asked him to give me the I sat in the driveway for a while, working up the courage to space I needed. Of course, he started calling me over and over go in. I really didn’t want to, but I knew that this was a close until I finally turned off my phone. He then called everyone in enough call that I should tell my husband what had hapmy family and said he was going to come to my mom’s house. pened. And maybe if he understood how miserable I was, he My mom asked my dad (the cop) to come over and wait with us would finally start acting differently or agree at her place until he calmed down. Meanwhile, to get help. my stepfather and my campaign manager met I walked into the house and told him what up with him in a parking lot to try to calm him had happened and how deeply unhappy I was I DREADED THE CALL down, and they almost came to blows when he because of our relationship. I asked him to see repeated to them what he’d already told me: TO SPEAKER PELOSI. that he’d ruin me if I left him. Eventually my a therapist, to think about the way he was actSHE KNEW WHAT I ing and how toxic his behavior had become. dad convinced him that coming to my mom’s He wouldn’t hear it, and it set him off in a way house was a really bad idea and that he should WAS ABOUT TO SAY, I wasn’t ready for, despite at least somewhat go home.

AND SAID, “OH, NO, expecting it.

I stayed away from my house for a couple KATIE, YOU DON’T It’s hard to explain how his rages would of weeks. My husband told me he’d started escalate, but it’s like he wasn’t there anymore. going to therapy and gone back on his meds.

HAVE TO DO THIS.” He didn’t make sense, and he would yell and He promised he’d change, and he brought me take the fight in the strangest directions, tellcards and flowers all the time and told me ing me how it was my fault that he got this how he couldn’t live without me. I missed my mad. By the end, I’d believe it and just keep dogs so much, and I just couldn’t imagine how saying, “I’m sorry—can you please forgive me?” because that’s to actually make the separation permanent. And with Electhe only way it might ever end. tion Day nearing, I didn’t know how I would deal with everyThat night was no different, but this time as it all escalated thing, including the threats, and I thought maybe this time I cried and said I just couldn’t do this anymore. Instead of the good phase could last until after November 6, at least. calming down and trying to talk and make things better, he The absolute last thing in the world I wanted to do was took a gun that he kept by the side of our bed and shoved it walk back into that house, into that life, into our marriage. But at me, saying, “Here, here, take it! If you want to kill yourself, there were always those words “I’ll ruin you.” So I went back. then why don’t you go fucking do it.” I kept pushing his arms That night in the tub brought me full circle to the night

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P H O T O G R A P H Y BY S C O T T S U C H M A N

T H E A F T E R M AT H Following her resignation from the House after a conservative website posted nude photos of her with a campaign aide, Hill holed up in her DC apartment.

“The future I’d thought was in store for me was irrevocably gone. I drew a bath and brought over a bottle of wine. I lay there and thought about what I’d lost. I felt guilty about my own responsibilty in my downfall.” Before long, “the bathwater had gone cold. The wine bottle was empty. Suddenly and with total clarity, I just wanted it all to be over.”

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with the tree, the day I’d left, and his threat. I finally did erative said they were supplied by my ex, though my ex has leave my husband for good. And, sure enough, he fulfilled claimed he was hacked), and would keep releasing them bit his promise by releasing those images and texts that ended by bit until I resigned or was forced out. Literally every single my career. So here I was again, not contemplating death day from when the first article was posted, RedState pubwith a car and a tree, but this time with a bath and a knife. lished a new slew of images or texts taken out of context, But those things that had made me veer off to the side befodder provided by my ex for that takedown he’d promised. fore, made me pause this time, too.

Then I saw how my colleagues—especially other freshmen Lying in the cold water tracing my veins, I thought about from tough districts—were put in the position of having to the people I had already let down so much with my scandal either denounce or defend me. My roommate, Representative and by resigning. What would this do to my parents? To my Lauren Underwood, said that trackers (people paid to chase brother and sister? To my staff and volunteers and supportpoliticians with cameras and catch them with a bad answer or ers, just like before? Except now, even though I was resigning. in a gaffe) were following her around and asking her how, as I felt an even greater sense of responsibility. Because we’d my roommate, she didn’t know this stuff about me, and why won, and we’d showed people it was possible for someone like she didn’t do anything about it. me—someone like them—to make it into power, to achieve I knew I was going to have to step back from my position something people said we couldn’t do. I thought about the as freshman representative to leadership. I couldn’t risk harmhigh school students who said how inspired they were by ing my colleagues by being the face of the class. I also knew I me, the Girl Scouts whose troops I’d visited, who told me they should step back from being vice chair of Oversight, since a wanted to grow up to be like me, and how their parents would huge part of that role was acting as a spokesperson. The day beexplain it if I killed myself, and what it would do to them. fore the RedState article was posted, we’d learned of the tragic I couldn’t do it. This whole thing was bigger than me before passing of Chairman Elijah Cummings, a hero and a mentor to the election, and it had only grown since then. I didn’t get to me. Serving as his vice chair was the honor of my lifetime, and, quit. I had to keep pushing forward and be part of the fight honestly, I’m glad that he didn’t have to see everything that to create the change that those young girls are counting on, happened. But because of his passing, the role of vice chair, if I even if it’s not in the way I thought. stayed in it, would have been even more magnified. And with The next day was my true day of reckoning, of coming to my controversy, I was no longer even remotely the right person terms with what had happened, what it meant for me, and to discuss the committee’s work in front of the press. what I needed to do. I spent the day writing my floor speech.

Finally, and perhaps most important, was the fact that the Everyone who has taken a basic psychology class has learned House was about to vote to officially open an impeachment about the stages of grief. That day I cycled inquiry into the president, and undergo an through all of them over and over. But writintensive investigation process during which ing the speech alone in my apartment gave the right-wing media and Republicans would me an outlet to work through them and what be seeking any opportunity they could find to I WAS EXPLOITED had led me to this point in my life and to the distract from the issue at hand: a corrupt and decision to resign. I looked back at the ten dangerous president. I would not allow myself

BY MY EX-HUSBAND days or so leading up to that horrible moment to be that distraction.

AND THE RIGHTin the bathtub.

I was supposed to go to Chairman CumWING MEDIA IN We first heard rumors that pictures might mings’s funeral on Friday, October 25. I stayed be coming out a few days before they did, but I home, not wanting my presence to take away A COORDINATED was in total denial at that point. First, I didn’t any of the attention that should be paid to celATTACK. I ALSO even know about all the photos that would ebrating the life of such a great man. But I MADE SERIOUS have been damaging. I didn’t know my huswas heartbroken. It was the day I fully realized band had taken them, so I didn’t quite grasp that I didn’t know how things could go back MISTAKES. what that meant. Second, I honestly didn’t to normal, how I could be an effective legislathink he would stoop to that level. When tor, an effective leader. I tried to imagine what you’ve known and loved someone for your enChairman Cummings would have said to me tire adult life, no matter how bad things get, about my situation if he were alive and could you just don’t think the person you’ve trusted with everything give me advice. I honestly didn’t know what he would say—if would be capable of such cruelty. he would tell me to keep going and stick it out or to step But on October 18, 2019, RedState, the right-wing online aside. He had often reminded me of my grandfather, Papa, publication that often posts conspiracy theories and all kinds who had passed away from Alzheimer’s in 2011. Papa was the of hit pieces on Democrats, published the first in a barrage of other person whose advice I desperately wanted at that point articles that included pictures and text messages related to because he was the person who always told me to never quit, the most intimate details of my life. When it first started, I never give up. thought that I could stay in office and we could fight it, ride it Sad, scared, and looking for answers, I did what I’ve always out. Then more and more photos were released. The harassdone when I feel that way. I called my mom. I had been talkment was incessant. And it became clear that the longer I ing to her every day, of course, but until this point, my posture resisted, the further those who were launching these attacks had been to stand strong. Fight it out. Don’t let them—don’t would go. A local Republican operative said they had a shared let him—win. Finally I cracked. I told my mom how miserdrive with more than 700 photos and text messages (this opable I was. How I couldn’t sleep because of the anxiety over

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COURTESY KATIE HILL

what was coming next. How I felt about the impossibility of going back to the roles that mattered so much to me. How horrible I felt for the team, for my family back at home, for my colleagues, knowing that the only way it would all end was if I stepped down. But how I felt like stepping down was giving in, showing I’d been broken, letting down all the people who believed in me.

My mom finally said to me, “Katie, you don’t have to keep doing this. You’ve already done so much by running, by showing it was possible, by flipping FA M I LY A F FA I R S the seat, by making sure people know From left: Hill with parents Rachel Stevenson and Mike Hill; as a young striker growing up in Santa Clarita; they can have a real representative who months before scandal cut short her political ambitions, the freshman representative from California’s works for them. None of that will ever Twenty-fifth District poses with her father and stepmother, Claire Bennett, in front of the White House. go away. It’s up to you.”

I mumbled weakly, “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

She went on, “I know you’re thinking about how Papa my ex had provided endless ammunition to the Republicans, would say to never quit. But you wouldn’t be quitting—you’d and that I didn’t know what to expect but that I knew I was be moving on to another fight.” And she said exactly what I going to be at best a distraction and at worst a liability, esneeded to hear. pecially during the impeachment. And more than anything, After we got off the phone, I called my sister, my dad, my I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do the kind of job that I chief of staff, and a couple of my closest advisers who had wanted to do and that my constituents deserved. She knew been with me from the very beginning. They supported my what I was about to say, and said, “Oh, no, Katie, you don’t decision and knew exactly how hard it was for me. Over the have to do this. We need you. You’re so talented.” I could tell next couple of days, I worked with my chief, my top advisors, she meant it. Her voice was pained. She had invested in me. and a legal team to put a plan in motion to announce my She had believed in me. She had, publicly and privately, given resignation. The plan needed to be executed quickly so the me opportunities and praised me as one of the promising new right people knew in the right order before something was leaders within Congress and within the party. As far as I could leaked to the press. Of course, the first person on that list was tell, she actually valued my opinion and the contributions I the Speaker of the House. made at leadership meetings, in committee, and to the caucus I had been so fortunate to work closely with Nancy Pelosi as a whole. She asked me not to resign, reinforcing her belief during my time in Congress. As the freshman leadership rep, in me and my future. But ultimately she understood my deciI got to participate in leadership meetings with her, along sion and thanked me for my service. I just prayed she could with fewer than ten other members, at least twice a week. one day forgive me, because I knew I had let her down.

I was able to see her in action, to learn from her behind the What happened here is so complex, with so many layers. I scenes, to see her masterful strategy, to see how she managed was exploited online by my abusive ex-husband and the rightthe complex and often conflicting wings of the Democratic wing media in a coordinated attack. I was a victim. But I also Caucus and somehow kept the whole thing together, espemade serious mistakes that I will always regret. Worst of all, I cially during the chaos that was the Trump presidency. I had had a relationship with a campaign staffer. I understand power the privilege of traveling with her on two Speaker’s Congresdynamics; I know that having a relationship with someone on sional Delegations—once to the Munich Security Conference my staff is inappropriate. I also know that sometimes it’s not and later to Central America’s Northern Triangle and the U.S. that simple—that a gray area does exist. I loved this woman, border as we dealt with the immigration crisis and the inhuand it was a consensual relationship with an adult. And I was mane and disastrous policies of the Trump administration. nearly fifteen years into a very abusive relationship, and lookI respected Speaker Pelosi more than anyone, and I, along ing for a way out. But right now there’s no space for gray. with so many members of the Democratic Caucus, had come I know my story plays a part in all of this, and it doesn’t creto see her as a matron of sorts—one who is incredibly powerate an easy or simplistic narrative. But I’m trying to figure out ful and tough but also compassionate and kind. I dreaded that how to make the most of it—how to keep pushing forward, call so much, and I couldn’t contain my tears by the time she despite my mistakes, my flaws, and all the times I’ve wanted got on the phone. Before anything, she said, with the utmost to quit. I have to know I am still a warrior—an imperfect one, concern in her voice, “Are you OK? I’ve been so worried about with many scars—but I have more to offer in the battles to you. What they’re doing is so nasty. Tell me what you need, come, and I refuse to let my experience deter others. how I can help.”

Excerpted from She Will Rise: Becoming a Warrior in the My voice shaking, I told her that I was so incredibly sorry Battle for True Equality by Katie Hill. Copyright © 2020 by for the position I’d put her and my colleagues in. She tried to HER Time, Inc. Reprinted with permission of Grand Central stop me and said, “Please, don’t worry about that right now.”

Publishing. All Rights Reserved.

But I continued. I explained that there was more coming, that L A M AG . C O M 69

H O M E Ever since March, the L.A. Zoo has been off-limits to most humans, but its 1,100 animal residents are just wild about pandemic life

BY R O B E R T I TO

P H OTO G R A P H S BY I A N S PA N I E R

A

Going Ape Jean is not a monkey; she's a chimpanzee.

LONE L A M AG . C O M 71

C

O N S I D E R T H E TA M A N D UA .

A semiarboreal anteater native to South America, the gentle tamandua spends its hours and days foraging for bugs. Micah, a tamandua at the Los Angeles Zoo, is one of the park’s “ambassador animals,” so his typical day might also include roaming the zoo’s expansive grounds, conducting impromptu meet-and-greets with the hundreds of thousands of humans who make their way through the park every year. Today, howT H E N E W R EG I M E ever, thanks to the pandemic, Micah is roaming and foraging Denise Verret, the L.A. Zoo's first female near the flamingo exhibit with nary a person in sight. Does he African American director, wants to make it accessible to a new generation of kids. miss the crowds, I wonder? His keeper, Madison Quintanar, gently laughs at the question, before telling me that, well, Micah still gets to hang out with keepers and staffers, and given that tamanduas are really more interested in eating (“food motivated,” she calls it) than socializing, no, not really.

Over at the Campo Gorilla home (Universal Studios, LACReserve, it’s a different story.

MA, the Getty); shut down the A group of keepers and I are venue and tell the singers and watching a cluster of western artists to stay home (Hollylowland gorillas—mom, dad, wood Bowl, the Dolby Theatre, and baby Angela, now seven the Music Center). But what do months old, the zoo’s first goyou do with a zoo? It’s not like rilla baby in more than 20 you can send Micah or Angela years—in the park’s shady, treeor any of the other hundreds filled exhibit. They are, in turn, of animals that call this place watching us. Intently. Ordinarhome, home. They already are. ily, these creatures are more And then there’s the enormous aloof, but nowadays, when the support staff needed to mainkeepers come by and have their tain the grounds and exhibits lunches in a nearby section, the and keep the animals alive and gorillas hang out by that sechealthy and fed. tion, too, watching and eating So the zoo is humming alongside. “I think they miss along, albeit without you and the people,” says Beth Schaeme. Stroll the winding pathfer, the zoo’s general curator. “If ways and you’ll see keepers and we walk through a public area curators and veterinarians gonow, they’re like, ’Hey, what are ing about their usual routines. you doing here?’ They’re used Behind closed doors, you’ll see to being around people. It’s alothers fulfilling the park’s mismost like TV for them.” sion of conservation, tending The L.A. Zoo is one of the to some of the world’s most encity’s most popular tourist dangered animals. In an area spots, second only to Universal closed to the public, there are Studios Hollywood among the California condors who will city’s top 20 paid attractions. one day soar free across enorSTA R T U R N S Top: Micah, an ant-eating Nearly two million people visit mous stretches of the Califortamandua, goes for a stroll. Bottom: Tiny Angela every year to see its menagerie nia countryside. In the zoo’s is the zoo's first gorilla baby in 20 years. of more than 1,100 animals and small Bio-Secure Amphibian to stroll the grounds, which, at Breeding Room (insiders call 133 acres, are larger than that of the world-renowned San it the “frog shack”), there are scores of southern mountain Diego Zoo. And then the pandemic hit. For nearly every other yellow-legged frogs, among the state’s most critically endanmajor institution on L.A.’s top 20, the reaction was predictgered amphibians, which are soon due to be released into a able (albeit heartrending): close the doors and send the staff remote region of the San Gabriel Mountains.

72 L A M AG . C O M

D R . D O L I T T L E Cliff, an elderly guinea pig, comes in to get his nails trimmed and vitals checked by chief veterinarian Dominique Keller (second from left).

Last year, Denise Verret, an Altadena native who has been with the zoo since 2000, took over its leadership.

Within months, COVID-19 rendered one of the park’s primary and most visible missions—amusing and entertaining its many human visitors—moot, at least for the time being.

What’s the point of a zoo that nobody comes to? The murder of George Floyd and the subsequent civil unrest around Black Lives Matter made Verret, the first female African American director of a major American zoo, reevaluate the park’s mission.

“My one-year anniversary was on July 1, and I thought I was doing a pretty good job,” she says. “I knew what I wanted to do, and I had charted my course. But this pandemic and the cries of racism really forced me to think and reflect in ways I know I wouldn’t have if it weren’t for those two crises converging.” Wearing a bright orange mask emblazoned with a California condor on one side and the L.A. Zoo logo on the other, Verret talks about the challenge of explaining the zoo’s mission—and, indeed, relevance—to Angelenos living through these tough and bewildering times. With the park shuttered and many folks understandably concerned about things like police violence and school closures and whether they’ll even have a job come fall, one has to wonder: just what, and who, is a zoo for?

T

H E L . A . Z O O shut its doors on March 13. In June, Governor Gavin Newsom gave the green light for zoos to reopen across the state—along with hotels, aquariums, museums, gyms, RV parks, and day camps. So that month a host of California zoos, from Fresno and Sacramento to Palm Desert and San Diego, reopened for business. Out of an abundance of caution, the L.A. Zoo did not (a decision that, given the resurgence of COVID-19 throughout the state since then, now seems well-considered).

Unlike throwing open the doors to, say, a restaurant, reopening a zoo is more like reopening a small neighborhood, one with retail areas, restaurants, parks and play equipment, office buildings, public transportation, and live-performance areas—not to mention all those animals.

According to Verret, the zoo was still implementing a range of changes in June to comply with extensive protocols established by the Los Angeles Department of Public Health, from timed ticketing and signage directing social distancing, to erecting additional physical barriers to protect vulnerable animals. On July 16, with COVID-19 rates spiking throughout the state, Mayor Eric Garcetti called for a range of businesses and activities, including zoos, to once again L A M AG . C O M 73

TA K I N G H E AT An EMT checks the temperature of every visitor to the park.

74 L A M AG . C O M

coronavirus struck. Temperature checkpoints were established for all employees entering the zoo. Sixty other workers began telecommuting. Volunteers were told to stay home.

Like the rest of us, the zoo struggled to find masks and gloves and hand sanitizer early on, but now it’s well-stocked. Because all city employees are required to be disaster service workers, 68 staffers in guest services—now no longer essential since all the guests are gone—have spent thousands of hours rendering aid to some of the city’s most vulnerable populations, delivering meals and providing care to L.A.’s elderly and homeless.

These changes aside, much of the work at the zoo has gone on as usual.

At the nutrition center, the workers are wearing masks and gloves and cleaning the place a lot more, but otherwise the food is going out on schedule: ground pork butt for the lions; herring and capelin for the marine mammals; mice and rats and rabbits for the snakes, maned wolves, and big cats; sacks of primate chow for the monkeys and apes. And lots of fresh produce. “We spend about half a million dollars every year on produce,” says Emily Schwartz, the zoo’s first full-time nutritionist (“zootritionist,” in the parlance of the park). “And all of it is restaurant or supermarket grade. If we wouldn’t eat it, we’re not going to feed it to our animals.”

TO P : R O BY N B E C K /A F P V I A G E T T Y I M AG E S

cease operations. The L.A. Zoo’s special relationship with the city, which owns the park and everything in it, has spared it from many of the woes that have devastated similar zoos across the country and world. “The L.A. Zoo is fortunate to have the financial support of the City of Los Angeles,” says Verret, “and we have taken the time we need to plan a safe reopening.”

It’s not the first time the park has shuttered—it closed in 2017 when a suspected bomb turned out to be a live opossum in a box and again the following year when a nearby brushfire scorched 30 acres of Griffith Park. But it’s certainly been the longest. The loss has been felt across the city by harried parents who miss having a safe and fun outdoor place to take (and, sometimes, dump) their kids as well as by lovers of botanical gardens who like some fauna with their flora. And then there are the animal lovers, who have been missing seeing some of the zoo’s newest arrivals. Babies are among the biggest attractions at zoos around the world. At the L.A. Zoo, there’s baby Angela, and a new (and, yes, adorable) litter of meerkat pups, now visible only through short videos posted on the zoo’s socialmedia platforms.

Like with every other department in the city, the L.A. Zoo had an emergency plan for pandemics at the ready when the

RUNNING ON EMPTY Left: Prior to the pandemic, hundreds of visitors lined up outside the zoo every morning; now the entrance is empty.

Above: Kaloa, a muscular jaguar, is looking for love.

So far he hasn't found it.

Over at the Gottlieb Animal Health and Conservation Center, the zoo’s hospital and wellness center, chief veterinarian Dominique Keller is overseeing the care of Cliff, a six-yearold orange and white guinea pig who is here to get his nails trimmed and vitals checked. Six is old for a guinea pig. “Geriatric medicine is this whole other burgeoning field in zoo medicine,” Keller says, “because animals are living so much longer because the care we give them is so much better than what it was.” Arthritis is a common problem here. “We have lots of ways to manage arthritis: We can do physical therapy and medications.

We can do water treatment and laser therapy and acupuncture.”

The center is large enough to treat lions and tigers—“We had a camel right over there,” Keller says— and for the hippos and elephants, the vets make house calls. During the lockdown, the center has increased social distancing and the use of PPE and postponed nonessential exams. “It’s sort of like human hospitals—how they initially got rid of elective surgery because they needed capacity for ICU beds,” Keller says. “It’s not exactly the same, but we’re minimizing interactions with animals that don’t absolutely have to happen right now.”

With the human visitors gone, nearly every aspect of the zoo has become solely for the sake and safety of the animals. And while doctors and keepers care for the hundreds of critters within the zoo’s walls—from bears and hippos

to salamanders and hissing cockroaches—they’re also doing so with the wider world in mind. In the frog shack, Ian Recchio tends to animals that will never go on exhibit because their more important purpose is to restock distressingly shrinking populations in the San Bernardino, San Jacinto, and San Gabriel Mountains.

Recchio points to a small aquarium in the corner. “There are more southern mountain yellowlegged-frog tadpoles, or larvae, in this aquarium than exist in the wild right now.”

Conservation is also the main goal at the zoo’s California Condor West Facility. “Back in 1987, there were only 27 condors left on the planet,” says curator of birds Mike Maxcy.

“And here we are in 2020 with 530. And most of those—300— are in the wild.” We stare at one of the zoo’s condors, Dolly, who is nonchalantly shredding a towel with her giant talons.

Dolly broke her right wing when she was four months old, so she won’t ever be released. But about 90 percent of the others here will be, so the keepers have to be much more hands-off with them to prevent them from becoming tame. “They live in a zoo, but we can’t treat them like the rest of the zookeepers treat the other animals, where they form relationships with them and feed them and say hi to them every day,” says keeper Debbie Sears.

The California Condor Recovery Program is one of the most successful such programs in the state, and has served as a model for similar recovery efforts in other parts of the world. While these scavengers have cast-iron stomachs that allow them to effortlessly consume dead animals infected with everything from cholera to anthrax, it was lead from bullets lodged in their prey that almost did them in. Once nearly extinct, the enormous birds—the largest in North America—have

WITH HUMAN VISITORS GONE, NEARLY EVERY ASPECT OF THE ZOO HAS BECOME SOLELY FOR THE SAKE AND SAFETY OF THE ANIMALS.

L A M AG . C O M 75

F OW L P L AY Birds curator Mike Maxcy (in green shirt) makes the rounds with his California condor crew (from left) Chandra David, Mike Clark, and Debbie Sears.

made a miraculous comeback; last May, six of them were spotted at Sequoia National Park, the first such sighting in nearly half a century. Back at the L.A. Zoo, there’s been a bumper crop of eggs: 18, with seven that hatched. “We’ve been breeding condors for 33 years,” says Sears. “And this year we just happened to have the most eggs laid ever, by one.”

Even when the zoo isn’t releasing animals into the wild, it’s promoting global conservation efforts in other ways: breeding critically endangered pronghorn antelopes, working to preserve Asian elephant populations in Cambodia, and providing funds to help save jaguars in Nicaragua and chimps in Cameroon. Schaefer is co-chair of an advisory group for the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where many of the animals they rescue are later released back into the wild. “One of the things that Beth and her team have been working on is trying to test different materials for anklets for GPS devices,” says Jake Owens, the zoo’s director of conservation. “We can do that here because the animals trust their keepers. That’s something you can only do at zoos.”

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H A N K S T O I T S singular relationship to the city, the L.A. Zoo is, in many ways, thriving, at a time when other zoos across the country, from Oakland to Detroit to Cincinnati, are not. In July, the president and CEO of the Oakland Zoo said they’d likely have to shut the park down for good if they weren’t allowed to reopen in July (they did); in Detroit, where zoo officials laid off half their staff and were losing more than $2.5 million a month during the pandemic, the director raised the horrific specter of zoo animals starving to death on his watch. At many zoos across the country, breeding programs for endangered species like those at the L.A. Zoo have been put on hold. “Most zoos and conservation organizations are just stopping,” says Owens. “They don’t have funds. But the L.A. Zoo is pushing forward with green initiatives, sustainability, and conservation, and because of that the zoo community is looking at us to be a leader. They see that we’re still expanding while they’re retracting.”

In addition to assorted conservation initiatives, Verret hopes to focus on finding ways to bring people and communities of

color into the zoo—and not just as weekend guests. The zoo is already doing well enough there, with people of color making up 57 percent of visitors. But Verret hopes to make the zoo a more inclusive place both inside the park and throughout the organization. “This pandemic and the issues of racial injustice have really given us an opportunity to listen and reflect and think about how we might be doing our work and focusing on our mission differently,” she says. “Because we want everybody to understand the importance of people and wildlife on this planet, and its interconnectedness, and that climate change and conserving wild animals shouldn’t be something that just white people care about.

But that means we need to do a better job of educating and engaging and bringing people into that work.”

To that end, Verret recently announced the appointment of a new director of equity programs, Jessica Niven-Kohring, who will report directly to Verret. Niven-Kohring’s job will be to ensure that the park’s “internal culture and external programs are rooted in equity, belonging, and diversity,” N AT U RA L H I G H Phillip, a Masai giraffe, is the tallest animal at the L.A. Zoo. says Verret. Among her first duties will be to help develop a new equity plan, which will lay out the creation of training programs and resource lion habitats, a funicular, fountains, and winding paths that materials, and to look at the possible creation of an equity lead visitors past pools, meadows, and vineyards. There council made up of staff members. will be an aerial tram and a thatched-roof African Visitors And then there’s the zoo’s vision plan—a blueprint for an Center, and the entire place will be greener and more ADAambitious remodel that will affect nearly every aspect of the accessible, with more space for both humans and animals. park, from its animal exhibit spaces and visitor centers to its “The vision plan is going to completely reimagine this enveterinary facilities and tramways. Slated for completion in tire campus,” says Verret. “It’s going to be a space that really 2040, the overhaul will come at a total cost of nearly $800 intertwines animal welfare, conservation, and connections million. In addition to a new islands-themed exhibit, home to between people and animals.” wallabies and wombats, there will be a completely revamped As for the individual animals here, have their lives been Asia section. A new, 14-acre California area will greet visitors changed at all by not having us humans around? I ask at the entrance of the park with grizzly-bear and mountainkeeper after keeper, hoping that maybe at least a few of the beasts might miss us, just as many of us are missing them. But other than the gorillas, no, not all that much. Not Dolly, the vulture (“She’s generally very neutral to the public,” Sears admits), and certainly not the southern mountain B A BY B O O M yellow-legged tadpoles. Maybe Ozzie, the Anatolian ShepFour meerkats were born during the pandemic. herd, who lives with the goat herd, chasing away stray coyotes and bobcats who might slip into the goats’ enclosure.

As for Micah, the tamandua, I ask again, since he seems like an animal who would certainly miss people, given that he looks a lot like a dog (albeit a long-nosed one), particularly when he’s on a leash, as he is now. Quintanar, his keeper, can probably sense that I want to believe that Micah does miss people, so she allows that when the place does reopen and folks start pouring back in, Micah just might be the better for it. “Once we’re able to start doing events and seeing larger groups of people,” she says, “it will absolutely be more enriching for him.”

L A M AG . C O M 77

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78 L A M AG . C O M

FROM A GROUNDBREAKING NEW BATWOMAN TO THE NEXT PARANORMAL HUNK, HERE ARE THE TEN YOUNG HOLLYWOOD STANDOUTS WHO ARE LEAVING THEIR MARK THIS SEASON

FENDI top, shorts, and jacket WOLFORD tights WALTERS FAITH earrings and ring

MASON GOODING Mason Gooding might be the son of Academy Award-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr., but he’s making his own name in Hollywood. In his role as Andrew, the antagonist on Hulu’s Love, Victor, Gooding hopes to show a new side of bullying. “You realize he’s the way he is due to his self-imposed insecurities and problems with self-image,” says Gooding, who was bullied in high school for being overweight. “It’s cathartic, the idea that I could embody something that as a child I thought was never possible.”

AU L I ’ I C R AVA L H O AGE 19, ALL TOGETHER NOW & THE POWER

Even if you haven’t seen Auli’i Cravalho in a movie before, you’ve probably heard her: the native Hawaiian made her debut as the voice of Disney’s animated Princess Moana in 2016.

Now she’s staking her claim in Hollywood with leading roles in the forthcoming Amazon Prime series The Power, and in the teen Netflix film All Together Now, which dropped August 28.

Cravahlo also generated some buzz back in April when she came out as bisexual in perfect Gen Z fashion—via TikTok.

8 0 L A M AG . C O M

JOSEPHINE LANGFORD AGE 22, AFTER WE COLLIDED

Before Josephine Langford made it in Hollywood, she passed out flyers in a shopping center while wearing an Elmo costume. “It gets really sweaty in the suit,” the Australian actress says. “I think I got in trouble once because an awful kid jabbed at me, and I jabbed back!” Luckily, following her 2019 breakout performance as Tessa Young in the movie After, Langford won’t have to don the Elmo suit again anytime soon. Many say that the After series, based on the popular books by Anna Todd, is positioned to be the next Twilight. The sequel, After We Collided, premieres in theaters on VOD October 2.

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AGE 23, LOVE, VICTOR

JAC K DY L A N GRAZER AGE 16, WE ARE WHO WE ARE

Jack Dylan Grazer is the youngest talent on our list, but the upstart actor already has an impressive résumé. Following leading roles in the films Shazam!, It, and It Chapter Two, Grazer will star in Luca Guadagnino’s hotly anticipated HBO miniseries, We Are Who We Are. The show, which is set to premiere on September 14, tells the story of Fraser Wilson (Grazer) and Caitlin Harper (Jordan Kristine Seamon), two teens who approach adulthood on an American military base in Italy. When he’s not acting, Grazer can be found perfecting his kickflips at skateparks across L.A.’s westside.

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RAMONA YO U N G AGE 22, NEVER HAVE I EVER

Though Ramona Young had a minor role on Santa Clarita Diet, her performance as a deadpan drugstore clerk earned her a reputation as a certified scene stealer. Now Young is receiving praise for subverting Asian American stereotypes in her portrayal of Eleanor Wong, a boy-obsessed, theater-loving teen on Mindy Kaling’s painfully funny new comedy series, Never Have I Ever. The alreadyprolific actress says she wants to also write, produce, and make her own movies. During the lockdown she’s been working on a nineteenth-century Western about a Chinese heroine’s journey to rescue her long-lost father.

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BIRGUNDI BAKER AGE 28, THE CHI & CIRCUIT

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Birgundi Baker has the performing arts in her blood. As a child, the North Carolina native often drove to New York City with her family to watch her aunt perform in student acting showcases at Juilliard.

Through her performance as Kiesha Williams on Lena Waithe’s Showtime drama The Chi, Baker hopes to amplify the voices of missing and abused Black women. In the third season, which debuted June 21, Baker’s character was promoted to a series regular.

She’ll also play the main character in the forthcoming short film Circuit, which sheds light on sex trafficking.

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L LA AM MAG AG..C CO OM M 83 13

JUSTIN H. MIN Justin H. Min is quickly building a rep as a bona fide supernatural star. On Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy, the second season of which premiered on July 31, Min has become a fan favorite as a ghost named Ben Hargreeves. The breakout role earned him a spot as a robot in Kogonada’s forthcoming A24 sci-fi flick, After Yang, alongside Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith. “While I was on a plane ride, my manager sent me the script and I just started to weep,” says Min. “The woman next to me was like, ‘Are you OK?’”

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PAG E 8 2 : R A M O N A YO U N G : H A I R A N D M A K E U P SA R A H H U G G I N S ; PAG E 8 3 : B I R G U N D I B A K E R : H A I R T I F FA N Y DAU G H T E RY @ C E L E ST I N E AG E N C Y / M A K E U P K A I P R I TC H A R D ; T H I S PAG E : J U ST I N M I N : S O N I A L E E FO R E XC LU S I V E A R T I STS U S I N G H A N Z D E F U KO ; O P P O S I T E : JAV I C I A L E S L I E : M A K E U P : D I O N XU / H A I R S E A N F E A R S

AGE 30, THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY & AFTER YANG

JAV I C I A LESLIE AGE 33, BATWOMAN

In preparation for her starring role in the CW series Batwoman, Javicia Leslie has taken up Thai boxing. Leslie’s name made waves in the entertainment industry when, following the sudden departure of then-lead Ruby Rose, it was announced that she would become the first Black bisexual actress to play Batwoman. “I knew that this was something that was just so much bigger, and it made me kind of reevaluate the role,” says Leslie. “Even though I’m doing something I love, I get to change the world while I do it.”

MAX MARA jacket, turtleneck, skirt, and tights CARTIER rings and watch

MICHAEL CIMINO AGE 20, LOVE, VICTOR

When Michael Cimino moved to L.A. two years ago, he spent his nights working as the mechanical-bull operator at a West Hollywood steak house.

Now the actor is turning heads as the main character in Hulu’s LGBTQ drama Love, Victor, which debuted June 17. The show, a spin-off of the 2018 film Love, Simon, follows teen Victor Salazar as he struggles with his sexuality in a conservative Latin household. While Cimino, who is of Puerto Rican and Italian German descent, has been lauded for his performance, he's quick to say “I still feel like I'm just a kid from Vegas.”

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AG E 2 6 , 9 -1-1 : L O N E S TA R

Though Ronen Rubinstein was born in Israel, his latest television role is deeply American. On Ryan Murphy’s 9-1-1: Lone Star, Rubinstein plays T. K. Strand, an openly gay firefighter and recovering opioid addict who relocates with his father (Rob Lowe) to Austin, Texas. Rubinstein says the show, which premiered in January, has inspired many first responders to come out to him. “To be able to have that trust and compassion from a complete stranger . . . that’s sort of all we could ask for,”he says. “People are seeing themselves onscreen, maybe for the first time ever,” he says.

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L A M AG . C O M 87

THE HOT LIST L.A. MAGAZINE

E D I T E D

E B E R

Broad Street Oyster Co.

MALIBU » Seafood $$

If ever there were a car picnic scene, it’s at this openair spot overlooking Malibu Lagoon State Beach (and across from a SoulCycle, if we’re being honest). You can grab a great lobster roll (topped with uni or caviar if you’re feeling extra fancy), towers of raw seafood, great clam chowder, and a burger sprinkled with shio kombu (dried kelp) that shouldn’t be overlooked. 23359 Pacific Coast Hwy. (424-644-0131 or broadstreetoyster .com). L-D daily. Beer and wine.

» Southeast Asian $$$

Bryant Ng mines his Chinese Singaporean heritage, honors wife Kim’s Vietnamese background, and works in the wood-grilling technique he honed at Mozza at this grand Southeast Asian brasserie. Hunker down at a table on the patio—or treat yourself to some great takeout—to devour turmeric marinated ocean trout or chickpea curry with scallion clay-oven bread. Wherever and however you enjoy Ng’s cooking, you won’t be disappointed. 1314 7th St. (310-393-6699 or cassiala .com). D nightly. Full bar.

hearty and satisfying. 1241 5th St. (310-310-8336 or colapasta.restaurant). L-D Mon.-Sat. Beer and wine.

At press time, many restaurants were open for outdoor dining, but we’ve also included a number of favorite places for delivery and takeout.

W EST

EAST

Includes Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Century City, Culver City, Malibu, Marina del Rey, Mar Vista, Palms, Santa Monica, Venice, West L.A., Westwood

Includes Atwater Village, Eagle Rock, East L.A., Echo Park, Glendale, Los Feliz, Pasadena, San Gabriel Valley, Silver Lake

T H E VALLEY DOWNTOWN Includes Arts District, Bunker Hill, Chinatown, Historic Core, Little Tokyo, South Park

Includes Agoura Hills, Burbank, Calabasas, Encino, North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Toluca Lake, Van Nuys

CENTRAL

SOUT H

Includes Beverly Grove, East Hollywood, Fairfax District, Hancock Park, Hollywood, Koreatown, West Hollywood

Includes Bell, Compton, Gardena, Hermosa Beach, Long Beach, Manhattan Beach, Torrance, Watts

Denotes restaurants with outdoor seating $ $$ $$$ $$$$

I N E X P E N S I V E (Meals under $10) M O D E R A T E (Mostly under $20) E X P E N S I V E (Mostly under $30) V E R Y E X P E N S I V E ($30 and above)

» Italian $

It’s equally pleasant to grab and go or eat at this quiet, affordable spot that features fresh pastas topped with farmers-market fare. The colorful, poppy-seed-sprinkled beet ravioli is delicate and delicious, while the gramigna with pesto and ricotta is

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2020

Price classifications are approximate and based on the cost of a typical main course that serves one. For restaurants primarily offering multicourse family meals, the cost per person of such a meal is used.

Dear John’s » Steak House $$$

CULVER CITY

The good news: Josiah Citrin and Hans Röckenwagner have taken over this former Sinatra hang with their menu of steak-house classics—crab Louie, oysters Rockefeller, thick prime steaks—that pay homage to the lounge’s Rat Pack past and can be enjoyed on a sunny new patio. The bad news: the restaurant has a two-year shelf life. The building will be razed for a development in 2021. 11208 Culver Blvd. (310-881-9288 or dearjohnsbar.com). D Tues.-Sat. Full bar.

Felix

VENICE » Italian $$$

Evan Funke is a pasta purist who can slip Italian lessons into any meal. He now presides at Felix, a clubby, floral-patterned trattoria that occupies the former home of Joe’s in Venice. His rigatoni cacio e pepe— tubes of pasta adorned only with pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper—nods to Roman shepherds who used the spice to keep warm, while the rigatoni all’Amatriciana with cured pork cheek sings brilliantly alongside Italian country wines. 1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd. (424-387-8622 or felixla.com). D nightly. Full bar.

Kato SAWTELLE

» Cal-Asian $$$-$$$$

Jon Yao isn’t serving his acclaimed Taiwanese tasting menu at the moment, but he’s offering up some amazing takeout. From gorgeous boxes of colorful chirashi with Santa Barbara spot prawns and uni to Wagyu short rib banh mi to elaborate char siu steamed buns family meals, this is a great option for an eating-in splurge. 11925 Santa Monica Blvd. (424535-3041 or katorestaurant.com). Pickup via Tock Tue.-Sat. 5-7 p.m.

n/naka PALMS » Japanese $$$$ Niki Nakayama’s acclaimed kaiseki restaurant has long been one of the city’s harder-to-score reservations, so naturally its to-go meals aren’t easy to get a hold of either. But if you do nab some takeout,, you’re in for a

S U S H I : CO U RT E SY O OTO R O

James Beard Award–nominated chef Jeremy Fox gets personal with a sunny spot dedicated to comfort food and named after his young daughter. The high-low menu is full of playful riffs on comfort food, from a corned beef platter, to a matzo ball soup with carrot miso, to a next-level relish tray. Don’t miss the jiggly rose-petal pie for dessert. 2421 Michigan Ave. (310310-3616 or birdiegsla.com). D Wed.-Sun. Full bar.

Colapasta

H A I L E Y

T H E B R E A K D OW N

Birdie G’s

SANTA MONICA » American $$

SANTA MONICA

BY

WEST

tessepor

Cassia

P. 89

OUR MONTHLY LIST OF L.A.’S MOST ESSENTIAL RESTAURANTS

SEPT

SANTA MONICA

The “Omakase A” from the new Ootoro in Japantown

treat. The $38 bento box with sushi includes an assortment of items such as grilled miso black cod, panfried shrimp with sesame aioli, sashimi, and matcha and white-chocolate cake. The $85 kaiseki jubako features delicacies like braised Monterey Bay abalone and seared Wagyu salad. The restaurant opens up reservations for takeout meals every Saturday at 10 a.m., and they’ve been going quickly. 3455 S. Overland Ave. (310-836-6252, n-naka.com, @nnakarestaurant). Takeout via Tock. 4:30-7 p.m. Tue.-Sat.

Pasjoli SANTA MONICA » French $$$$

Dave Beran’s à la carte spot bucks the trends and eschews bistro clichés in favor of old-fashioned thrills—an elaborate pressed duck prepared just as Escoffier would have and served with potatoes au gratin dauphinois—and modern French fare.

The showy duck must be reserved in advance as there are a limited number of birds available each night. But there are plenty of other exciting dishes on the menu, such as the chicken liver in brioche and a beef tartare spiked with nasturtium pesto. 2732 Main St. (424-330-0020 or pasjoli.com).

L Fri-Sun.; D Thurs.-Sun. Full bar.

Pizzana BRENTWOOD

» Italian $$

It’s not easy to make over the local pie joint, but 35-year-old chef Daniele Uditi has reimagined an urban standby with equal parts purism and playfulness, that has become a neighborhood favorite in the process. Most impressive is the open-mindedness that has him deftly transforming the Roman pasta dish cacio e pepe into a pizza or putting a hearty short rib ragù on the Pignatiello pie. And in a real twist, appetizers and seasonal salads aren’t afterthoughts but highlights. The pizzeria is also making its famous limited-edition sub sandwiches more readily available (check Instagram) and has been making free meals for doctors and nurses. 11712 San Vicente Blvd. (310-481-7108, pizzana.com, @pizzana).

Pickup and delivery via ChowNow. 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. Also at 460 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood (310-657-4662).

Lasa CHINATOWN

» Filipino $$

If you’ve followed the wave of new Filipino restaurants in the City of Angels, there’s a very good chance you’ve heard of brothers Chase and Chad Valencia. The cooking at their Far East Plaza restaurant exudes the sharp, resonant flavors of traditional Filipino food and the produce-driven aesthetic of California—Alice Waters filtered through Manila.

Thoughtfully selected natural wines perfectly complement dishes like whole fried pompano fish. 727 N. Broadway, Ste. 120 (213-443-6163 or lasa-la.com).

L, D Thurs.-Sun. Wine and beer.

Ootoro Sushi » Sushi $$$

Bavel ARTS DISTRICT

» Middle Eastern $$$

Husband-and-wife duo Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis’s follow-up to Bestia is sort of the Godfather II of restaurants. Fans fervently debate whether the first installment or the second is superior, but one thing is certain: dishes like grilled prawns with harissa marinade and slow-roasted lamb-neck shawarma are delicious, as are the superb hummus and pita.

500 Mateo St. (213.232.4966 or baveldtlac.com).

D Tues.-Sat. Full bar.

Bestia ARTS DISTRICT

» Italian $$$

The good times keep rolling at this lively spot that put the Arts District on the foodie map. It has reopened with several new items on the menu, including a decadent lamb shank with morita peppers, raisins, creamy farro, and mint gremolata. But fear not, classics like the bone marrow with spinach gnocchetti remain. 212 E. 7th Pl. (213-514-5724 or bestiala.com).

D Tues.-Sat. Full bar.

Guerrilla Tacos » Mexican $-$$

PASTA : CO U RT E SY O R S O

ARTS DISTRICT

While founder Wes Avila recently departed, this slick counter-service spot remains fairly true to its taco truck origins, with many old favorites—potato taquitos, tempura-battered fish tacos, a hamachi tostada—still on the menu. The complex salsas are some of the best in town, while the cocktails provide another reason to visit. Try the ahi tuna tostada paired with a rum-spiked yuzu lemonade. 2000 E. 7th St. (213-375-3300 or guerrillatacos.com).

L, D daily. Full bar.

Sonoratown FASHION DISTRICT

» Mexican $

At this downtown spot known for its flour tortillas, you can order à la carte or opt for affordable familystyle takeout options to make your own tacos, burritos, or chimichangas filled with chorizo, carne asada, or mesquite-grilled chicken. Wash it all down with a six-pack of Tecate or seasonal aguas frescas.

208 E. 8th St. (213-628-3710, sonoratown.com, @sonoratownla). Curbside pickup by calling the restaurant; takeout and delivery via Caviar.

11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. Beer to go.

JAPANTOWN

The upscale chainlet, which also has locations in Walnut and Irvine, has opened downtown. The expansive menu goes beyond the basics with an array of tuna, giant scallop, and hen clam sushi. And, as the name suggests, expect plenty of toro—the tender belly of the fish. There’s both indoor and outdoor seating, but everything is very takeout-friendly, with options from the $28.95 sushi box to the $128.95 omakase packaged elegantly to go. 232 E 2nd St., Ste. E (213-278-0056 or ootorosushi.com).

L, D Tues-Sun. Wine, beer, and sake.

Redbird HISTORIC CORE » New American $$$$

Neal Fraser has defined his own kind of L.A. elegance over the 20 years he’s been cooking in his native city.

Setting up shop in the deconsecrated St. Vibiana Cathedral offered an opportunity to add theatrics to a space that’s contemporaryand classically plush and now boasts three distinct outdoor dining areas. A delicate curried carrot broth and beluga lentils transform slices of smoked tofu from wholesome to haute, while

CENTRAL Alta Adams » California Soul Food $$

WEST ADAMS

Riffing on his grandmother’s recipes, Watts native Keith Corbin slips soy and miso paste into braised oxtail and spiced cashews into baked yams. Soul food in this city is too often associated with Styrofoam containers, yet the low-lit room here, carved out of a transformed Spanish Revival building, is a lovely place to linger, as is the lovely verdant patio.

Hot sauce splashed onto skillet-fried chicken is pure pleasure, enhanced by a bourbon drink the bar tints with roasted peanuts and huckleberries. Finish the night by taking on a heroic wedge of coconut cake.

5359 W. Adams Blvd. (323-571-4999 or altaadams .com). D Wed.-Sun; brunch Sat.-Sun. Full bar.

Angelini Osteria » Italian $$$

BEVERLY GROVE

CITYWIDE DELIVERY

Orso Italian $$$

DOWNTOWN

lamb belly spins on a spit in the former rectory. 114 E. 2nd St. (213-788-1191 or redbird.la). D Wed.-Sun. Full bar.

› When the pandemic thwarted his plans to open his own restaurant, Josh Buckwald, the former sous chef at Rossoblu, pivoted. The result is an operation that brings soul to the ghostkitchen concept with next-level pasta kits Buckwald delivers himself across the city. The fresh noodles are textural marvels, and the Bolognese sauce is perfectly balanced and seasoned. But the DIY cacio e pepe is the real standout. Buckwald constructs orbs of compound butter with cheese and pepper that make prepping the simple-butfinicky Roman classic at home nearly foolproof. Delivery only, (310-710-1918 or orsopasta.com) 12-5 p.m. Wed.-Sun.

Gino Angelini grew up eating his grandma’s lasagna in a town outside the Adriatic city of Rimini, then came to Los Angeles to cook with Mauro Vincenti.

He’s not above finishing a crostino of lardo with truffles, but his wheelhouse is a more understated realm: soup is thick with soft potatoes, tripe is buoyed by a slow-cooked soffritto, and all the veal kidneys need is cooked-down onions and a splash of wine. 7313 Beverly Blvd. (323-297-0070 or angelinirestaurantgroup .com). L Mon.-Fri.; D nightly. Beer and wine.

Antico LARCHMONT VILLAGE » Italian $$

Take comfort. Some of the city’s best ice cream is now available to pick up. Chef Chad Colby has converted his East Larchmont Italian restaurant into a takeout spot for foccacia pizzas and ice cream, fashioning a makeshift pizza oven with the plancha top that used to sit on the restaurant’s hearth. The ice cream has a wonderfully smooth texture, and the flavors are spot on. The honeycomb and strawberry have garnered a lot of praise since the restaurant opened last year— and rightly so—but Colby and pastry chef Brad Ray have also been introducing flavors like cookies-andcream and pistachio. 4653 Beverly Blvd. (323-5103093, antico-la.com, antico___la). Pickup and delivery via Caviar. 3-8 p.m. Mon.-Tues., 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Wed.Sun. Wine to go.

A.O.C. BEVERLY GROVE » California $$$

Unforced and driven by culinary excellence, A.O.C. is anchored by a courtyard with soft sunlight and laurel trees. Caroline Styne’s wine list doesn’t shy away from the ecology of vineyards, while Suzanne Goin’s cooking has become indispensable. Carefully constructed salads showcase vegetables at their best, and the roasted chicken with panzanella is both an homage to San Francisco’s Zuni Café and a classic in and of itself. 8700 W. 3rd St. (310-8599859 or aocwinebar.com). D Tues. -Sun.; brunch Sat.Sun. Full bar.

Badmaash FAIRFAX DISTRICT

» Indian $-$$

This Indian gastropub concept comes from the father-and-sons team of Pawan, Nakul, and Arjun

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E.P. + L.P. WEST HOLLYWOOD

» Pan-Asian $$$

With a killer rooftop dining area, this dual-concept restaurant and bar would probably attract scene-y crowds regardless of its menu. The Thai-ChineseFijian plates are playful and progressive, including fried-crab curry buns and ahi-tuna-tartare crostini with kimchi relish. 603 N. La Cienega Blvd. (310-8559955 or eplosangeles.com). D nightly; brunch Sat. and Sun. Full bar.

Harold & Belle’s JEFFERSON PARK » Southern Creole $$ For creole-style food—a mélange of French, African, and Native American flavors—Harold & Belle’s is as close to the Dirty Coast as you’ll come on the West Coast. The crawfish étouffée in spicy gravy will have you humming zydeco, while the bourbon bread pudding will leave you with a Sazerac-worthy buzz. 2920 W. Jefferson Blvd. (323-735-9023 or haroldandbelles .com). L-D daily. Full bar.

Kali LARCHMONT VILLAGE

» New American $$$

Chef Kevin Meehan never strays far from the fare that once characterized California cuisine, but the restaurant doesn’t play it safe either: witness the black cod with English peas and black lime, the black barley “risotto” with black garlic, or

C H E F FAVO R I T E S DAV I D A L M A N Y 1 PICO AT SHUTTERS ON THE BEACH

the sea urchin pasta with bread crumbs and ricotta whey. 5722 Melrose Ave. (323-871-4160 or kalirestaurant.com). Takeout via Tock. 4-6 p.m.Thurs.-Sun. Wine, beer, and cocktails to go.

Lalibela

FAIRFAX DISTRICT » Ethiopian $-$$

The strip of Fairfax known as Little Ethiopia has long been dominated by the same handful of restaurants. Chef-owner Tenagne Belachew worked in a few of them before opening her own sophisticated haven, which invites with the swirling aromas of berbere and burning sage. Stretchy disks of injera— the sour, teff-flour pancake that doubles as a utensil for scooping up food by hand—arrive piled with uniquely pungent delights. There are wots, or stews, made with chicken or spiced legumes or lamb sautéed in a creamy sauce. 1025 S. Fairfax Ave. (323-965-1025 or lalibelala.com). L-D daily.

Beer and wine.

Luv2Eat Thai Bistro HOLLYWOOD » Thai $$ Vibrant flavors and spices abound at this strip-mall favorite from two Phuket natives. The crab curry, with a whole crustacean swimming in a creamy pool of deliciousness, is not to be missed (it travels surprisingly well), but the expansive menu is full of winners, from the massaman curry to the Thai fried chicken with sticky rice and sweet pepper sauce. 6660 W. Sunset Blvd. (323-498-5835, luv2eatthai.com, @luv2eat.thaibistro). Takeout and delivery via SappClub, ChowNow, or phone.

11 a.m.- 10 p.m. daily.

Osteria Mozza/Pizzeria Mozza HANCOCK PARK » Italian $$$ Nancy Silverton’s osteria and pizzeria may share a street corner, but their true link is a fearless approach. The osteria aims for big-city elegance, with space in the dining room for a cheese counter where you can order a plate of buffalo mozzarella and Sungold tomatoes. Next door it’s about pizzas with billowing crusts and toppings like fennel sausage. A parking area has recently been transformed into “Piazza Mozza” to offer outdoor seating. Osteria: 6602 Melrose Ave. (323-297-0100 or osteriamozza. com). D Wed.-Sun, B Sat.-Sun. Full bar. Pizzeria: 641 N. Highland Ave. (323-297-0101 or pizzeriamozza.com).

L-D daily. Beer and wine.

République

BOILED FISH WITH RATTAN PEPPER SICHUAN IMPRESSION “This aromatic dish is healthy and full of peppery, delicious flavor.” $14.99,

various locations at sichuanimpressions .com.

NEUH NAHM THOUHK KHAOSAN THAI STREET FOOD “This This ssteak salad is the perfect perf spicycool entree ent to have on a hot summer day.” $16 $16, 19801 Ventura Blvd Blvd, Woodland Hills, eat eatkhaosanthai .com.

CRISP CRISPY GNOCCHI GNOC MOODY ROOSTER d has “This dish incredible texture incredib and flav flavor. It’s one of their signatures.” s $17, 289 2891 Agoura Rd., Westlak Westlake Village, moodyroosterwlv moodyr .com.

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HANCOCK PARK » Cal-French $$$

République may be devoted to French food, but its soul is firmly rooted in Californian cuisine. Walter Manzke is as skilled at making potato and leek beignets as he is with at roasting cauliflower and local dates. At breakfast, people murmur over cast-iron pots of shakshouka, and drool over the pastries while waiting to be seated. At dinner, the rib eye—served with soft marrow—can be had in two sizes. Afterward it’s time for Margarita Manzke’s orange-blossom cream puff. 624 S. La Brea Ave. (310-362-6115 or republiquela.com). B-L-D daily. Full bar.

Ronan

FAIRFAX DISTRICT » Cal-Italian $$$

Daniel and Caitlin Cutler may hail from traditional Italian eatery Sotto, but their chic pizzeria on Melrose is more offbeat, with tiki-ish cocktails and a brass crucifix above the wood-fired oven. Charred pies with spicy ’nduja, Gorgonzola, and celery nod to Buffalo as much as to Naples, while steak tartare is punched up with pistachios and briny olives.

7315 Melrose Ave. (323-917-5100 or ronanla.com).

D Tue.-Sun. Full bar.

Slab BEVERLY GROVE

» Barbecue $$

Hungry diners used to line up in the driveway of Burt Bakman’s home, desperate for a taste of his famous smoked barbecue meats. In 2018, Bakman came up from the underground, opening a sleek storefront that’s now filling to-go orders for hearty fare, from perfectly marbled brisket to pulled-pork sandwiches and collard greens. You can even get a six-pack of Bud-

CENTRAL

Brandoni Pepperoni WEST HOLLYWOOD Pizza $$$$

› Six nights a week, Brandon Gray turns out some of L.A.’s most exciting pizzas in the back of the WeHo Gateway shopping center. Gray, a veteran of Navy kitchens and top local restaurants like Providence, brings boundless imagination to his pies. They’re topped with premium ingredients— Jidori chicken, Sungold tomatoes, Spanish octopus—in exciting combinations. A curry-Dijonnaise dressing renders a side salad surprisingly memorable. 7100 Santa Monica Blvd., (323-306-4968 or brandonipepperoni.com). Pickup only. 4-8 p.m., Thurs.-Tues. Wine to go.

Light. 8136 W. 3rd. St. (310-855-7184, slabbarbecue .com, @slab). Takeout and delivery via Postmates.

11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. Beer and wine to go.

Son of a Gun » Seafood $$

BEVERLY GROVE

Florida-raised chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo deliver a certain brand of sun-drenched seashore nostalgia.

Dropping into the nautically themed dining room for chilled peel-and-eat shrimp and a Hurricane feels as effortless as dipping your toes in the sand. There are buttery lobster rolls and fried-chicken sandwiches alongside artfully plated crudos and uni-slathered burrata. Don’t miss the yellowfin tuna–wrapped avocado in leche de tigre. 8370 W. 3rd St. (323-782-9033 or sonofagunrestaurant.com). L-D daily. Full bar.

EAST Bar Restaurant » French $$$

SILVER LAKE

Chef Douglas Rankin, who worked under Ludo Lefebvre for years, strikes out on his own with this charming, pale-pink “neo-bistro” in the old Malo space in Sunset Junction. The menu features playful Gallic-ish fare, like curly fries and plump mussels Dijon atop

DAV I D A L M A N Y: CO U RT E SY 1 P I CO AT S H U T T E R S O N T H E B E AC H ; P I ZZ A : CO U RT E SY B R A N D O N I P E P P E R O N I

Mahendro, who are all well versed in the culinary techniques of East and West. The menu features contemporary mash-ups, like a version of poutine smothered in chicken tikka, tandoori-spiced chicken wings, and a spicy lamb burger. If tradition’s your thing, you’ll be comforted by a superlative butter chicken and what they call “good ol’ saag paneer.” 418 N. Fairfax Ave., Fairfax District (213-281-5185 or badmaashla.com). Takeout or delivery via DoorDash 12-9 p.m. daily. Beer and wine to-go. Also at 108 W. 2nd St. (213-221-7466).

GRILLING UP SEPTEMBER 9

BURGERS BOURBON + BEER

Join Los Angeles magazine as we fire up the grill at our fifth annual gourmet burger battle.

Enjoy an evening of

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milk toast; classic cocktails; and plenty of funky wines available by the glass. The restaurant recently expanded its already large outdoor space into the parking lot to create a festive open-air area with plants and lights. 4326 W. Sunset Blvd. (323-347-5557 or barrestaurant.la). D Wed.-Sun. Full bar.

Hippo HIGHLAND PARK

» Cal-Italian $$

Hidden in a wood-trussed dining room behind Triple Beam Pizza, this Cal-Ital restaurant from Mozza vet Matt Molina balances casual and refined. Snappy wax beans are sluiced with vinaigrette for a picnic-worthy salad. Sweet corn cappellacci are lush pasta pillows. Grilled chicken thighs and a glass of Vermentino deliver the unfussy pleasure found at the best neighborhood spots. Eclectic regular specials like haute corn dogs add to the fun. 5916 ½ N. Figueroa St. (323-545-3536 or hipporestaurant.com). D nightly. Full bar.

Ma’am Sir » Filipino $$

SILVER LAKE

Charles Olalia has transformed the erstwhile Bar Angeles space into a lush tropical hangout. The Manila native refines Pinoy classics like sizzling pork sisig and adobo fried rice without dampening the cuisine’s spirit. Crunchy, cigar-length egg rolls called lumpia arrive draped with sea urchin, and there’s a pandan-leaf old-fashioned. Who could ask for more?

4330 W. Sunset Blvd. (323-741-8371 or maamsirla. com). D Wed.-Sun. Full bar.

Northern Thai Food Club EAST HOLLYWOOD » Thai $ Offering specialty dishes unique to northern Thailand, this family-run favorite doesn’t skimp on flavor, spice, or authenticity. Tasty takeout meals include the khao soi gai (curry egg noodle with chicken), laab moo kua (minced pork), tam kha noon ( jackfruit salad), and pla salid tod (fried

gourami fish). For those unfamiliar with the region’s distinct cuisine, the illustrious sticky rice is still a reliable bet. Need more incentive? Everything on the menu is less than $10. 5301 Sunset Blvd. (323-474-7212 or amphainorthernthaifood. com). Takeout and delivery via the restaurant’s website. 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m. daily.

Porridge + Puffs HISTORIC FILIPINOTOWN

» Pan-Asian $

Minh Phan’s beloved restaurant is still cooking up porridge and puffs, along with bahn mi and a set meal named in honor of the late Jonathan Gold. Proceeds from “The Gold” go toward providing free meals to those on the front lines of the COVID-19 battle. Various provisions—from miso caramel to apricot habanero hot sauce—are on sale to help jazz up your home cooking. 2801 Beverly Blvd. (213-908-5313, porridgeandpuffs.com, or @porridgeandpuffs). Takeout via Square Up. 12-6 p.m. Fri.-Sat.

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant ROSEMEAD » Chinese $-$$ Located in an anonymous stucco building near an on-ramp to the 10 freeway, the L.A. branch of this Hong Kong–style chain has a corporate veneer you have to get past (the laminated menu could have come from IHOP). But you forget about all that when you dig into your dim sum. In the evenings, when you dine in, there’s as much Bordeaux as tea on the tables, a declaration of ambition and a nod to the formal manner with which this type of restaurant flirts. 3939 Rosemead Blvd. (626-2883939). Takeout by calling the restaurant. 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m. daily. Beer and wine.

Spoon & Pork » Filipino $$

deliciousness. Spoon & Pork puts an innovative spin on some Filipino favorites—just try its adobo pork belly, pork belly banh mi, or lechon kawali.

The dishes elegantly mix decadence with some authentic soul. 3131 W. Sunset Blvd. (323-922-6061, spoonandpork.com, or @spoonandporkla). Takeout and delivery via the restaurant’s website. 12-7 p.m.

Wed.-Thurs., 12-8 p.m. Fri. and Sat., 12-5 p.m. Sunday. Beer and wine to go.

THE VALLEY Black Market Liquor Bar » New American $$

STUDIO CITY

Some nights it seems as if half the Valley is here, enjoying the colorful patio. Top Chef graduate Antonia Lofaso’s Italian chops are visible in the buxom ricotta gnudi with brown butter and pistachios. The deep-fried fluffernutter sandwich is a reminder that food, like life, should not be taken too seriously. 11915 Ventura Blvd. (818-446-2533 or blackmarketliquorbar.com). L and D daily. Full bar.

The Brothers Sushi » Sushi $$$

WOODLAND HILLS

A This hidden gem, reinvigorated when chef Mark Okuda took the helm in 2018, is worth travelling for.

Keep spirits up with the Hand-Roll Party home kits (there’s even one for kids), or splurge on an omakase to be enjoyed on the patio or to go. You can also order à la carte or get non-sushi items like soy-glazed grilled chicken. 21418 Ventura Blvd. (818-456-4509, thebrotherssushi.com, or @thebrotherssushila).

L Tues.-Fri. D Tues.-Sun.Beer, wine, and sake.

SILVER LAKE

Gino’s East

The go-to for Filipino comfort food offers a variety of dishes, all featuring one shared ingredient:

Carbs don’t get any more comforting and indul-

SHERMAN OAKS

» Pizza $$$

PROMOTION

The Skirball Cultural Center Presents

An Evening with Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Phot o courtesy of the p ub lisher

Sunday, October 18 5:00 pm (PDT) Online program!

Join Pulitzer Prize– winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn for an impassioned discussion of their new book Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope. Examining the many crises facing our country’s working class, Tightrope pairs empathetic storytelling with solutions for how we might forge a new path forward. skirball.org

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The Bloc 700 W. 7th Street, DTLA Experience this open air center in the heart of DTLA. Safely shop at your fav stores, grab a cocktail on an outdoor patio and explore some of the most popular street art in the city. The Bloc Concierge is available to answer questions, help you shop and elevate your experience. Connect at concierge@theblocla.com. @theblocla theblocla.com

gent than deep-dish pizza—at least if you have ties to Chicago. This new location had fans waiting hours for a table in pre-pandemic times; now you can order spinach-artichoke dip and a deep-dish Meaty Legend to enjoy at home. 12924 Riverside Dr. (818-788-5050, ginoseast.com/los-angeles, or @ginoseastla). Takeout and delivery via ChowNow. 12-9 p.m. daily. Beer and wine to go.

Hank’s BURBANK

» Bagels $

The L.A. bagel revolution continues at this stylish new spot in the Valley that serves up carefully constructed sandwiches. Tomato, aioli, and maple-glazed bacon elevate a simple bacon, egg, and cheese, while a classic salmon-and-lox construction has thoughtful touches like salted cucumbers and pickled onions. Sammies shine with plain cream cheese, but it’s worth grabbing a tub of Hank’s “angry” spread—a spicy, slightly sweet concoction—to have in your fridge. And no cream cheese is needed for Hank’s everything jalapenocheddar bagel, a stunning gut bomb. 4315 Riverside Dr. (hanksbagels.com or @hanksbagels).

Takeout and delivery via Toast. 8 a.m.-2 p.m.

Tues.-Sun.

SOUTH Ali’i Fish Company

EL SEGUNDO » Seafood $$

This small, unassuming spot shames all of the glossy poke purveyors popping up around town to serve mediocre versions of the Hawaiian dish. Glistening cubes of tuna, flown in fresh from the islands daily, remind you how great poke can be, and even a vegan poke, with tofu and sea asparagus, manages to satisfy. If you’re not looking to go raw,

there are various salmon and tuna burgers to choose from, and the smoked ahi dip with housemade potato chips is not to be missed. Perfect for picking up a beach picnic. 409 E. Grand Ave. (310893-6299 or aliifishco.com). L-D daily; brunch Sat.Sun. Full bar.

Fishing With Dynamite MANHATTAN BEACH » Seafood $$$ A premium raw bar near the beach shouldn’t be unusual, but it is. The same goes for velvety clam chowder. Here it achieves smoky richness—you can thank the Nueske’s bacon for that—without any of the floury glop. On the raw bar menu you’ll find several kinds of oysters from across the country, Peruvian scallops, and Alaskan king crab legs.

1148 Manhattan Ave. (310-893-6299 or eatfwd.com).

L-D daily; brunch Sat.-Sun. Full bar.

Hotville BALDWIN HILLS CRENSHAW

» Fried chicken $

After three years of running a pop-up, Kim Prince has opened a brick-and-mortar that does her family’s legacy justice—she is the niece of André Prince Jeffries, owner of Nashville legend Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack, where hot fried chicken is said to have originated. Prince adds spice at every step in the cooking process to produce a complex, layered flavor. The sides ($5 and up), like spicy mac and cheese and kale coleslaw, are also winners. 4070 Marlton Ave. (323-792-4835 or hotvillechicken.com).

L-D Tue.-Sun. No alcohol.

nida del Norte (424-398-0237 or dinelittlesister.com).

L-D daily. Beer, wine, and sake. Also at 523 W. 7th St., downtown (213-628-3146 or dinelittlesister.com).

Love & Salt

MANHATTAN BEACH » Italian $$-$$$

Serving pasta-centric coastal cuisine, this venture is formal enough that a waiter serves creste di gallo pasta, and lighthearted enough that Larder Bakery rye toast with Cara Cara marmalade and housecultured butter aren’t out of place. Come with a crew and try one of the family-style dishes, which include a gorgeous whole roasted branzino with Umbrian lentils. Don’t miss comforting desserts like Italian doughnuts with Nutella. 317 Manhattan Ave. (310-545-5252 or loveandsaltla.com). D nightly; brunch Sat.-Sun. Full bar.

M.B. Post

MANHATTAN BEACH » New American $$

David LeFevre (the Arthur J, Fishing With Dynamite) cuts a swath through genres and latitudes with the gusto of someone who’s clearly pleased to be at the stove. He sears Scottish salmon with roasted garlic puree, sugar snap peas, truffle vinaigrette, and charred scallions. There’s plenty of wordplay on the menu (“Meat Me Later”), but no pun can do justice to his bacon-cheddar biscuits with maple butter. 1142 Manhattan Ave. (310-5455405 or eatmbpost.com). D nightly; brunch Sat.Sun. Full bar.

Little Sister

REDONDO BEACH » Asian Fusion $$

Chef and co-owner Tin Vuong deftly translates the flavors of Vietnam for a casual drinking scene. Nibble on Balinese fried meatballs with cilantro-mint chutney or fresh spring rolls with shrimp, pork, and a peanut dipping sauce, then wash it all down with a craft beer or three. 247 Ave-

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*U.S. Pat. No. 8,412,564 DISCLAIMER: The information presented in Super Lawyers is not legal advice, nor is Super Lawyers a legal referral service. We strive to maintain a high degree of accuracy in the information provided, but make no claim, promise or guarantee about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in this special section or linked to SuperLawyers.com and its associated sites. The hiring of an attorney is an important decision that should not be solely based upon advertising or the listings in this special section. No representation is made that the quality of the legal services performed by the attorneys listed in this special section will be greater than that of other licensed attorneys. Super Lawyers is an independent publisher that has developed its own selection methodology. Super Lawyers is not affiliated with any state or regulatory body, and its listings do not certify or designate an attorney as a specialist. State required disclaimers can be found on the respective state pages on superlawyers.com.

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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 2020 SUPER LAWYERS / TOP WOMEN

TOP 50

WOMEN AN ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF THE WOMEN LAWYERS WHO RANKED TOP OF THE LIST IN THE 2020 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SUPER LAWYERS NOMINATION, RESEARCH AND BLUE RIBBON REVIEW PROCESS

BETI TSAI BERGMAN PENINSULA LAW, A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION

3220 Sepulveda Boulevard Suite 203 Torrance, CA 90505 Tel: 310-694-8703 Fax: 866-449-6181 bbergman@peninsula.law www.peninsula.law

Abell, Nancy L., Paul Hastings, Los Angeles Agrusa, Angela C., DLA Piper (US), Los Angeles Bishop, Leah M., Loeb & Loeb, Los Angeles Bohen, Mary Catherine M., Law Offices of Mary Catherine M. Bohen, Los Angeles Booth, Susan Jennifer, Holland & Knight, Los Angeles Boyer, Holly N., Esner Chang & Boyer, Pasadena Brill, Laura W., Kendall Brill & Kelly, Los Angeles Bryan, Sharon A., Moore Bryan Schroff & Inoue, Torrance Carlo, Candace, Kleinberg Lange Cuddy & Carlo, Los Angeles Cohen, Nancy S., Lathrop GPM, Los Angeles Coleman, Christina M., Law Offices of Christina M. Coleman, Los Angeles Cox, Cynthia R., Cox Law Group, Torrance Drucker, Joelle M., Drucker Law Offices, Beverly Hills Ebelhar, Melinda W., Benedon & Serlin, Woodland Hills Fornos, Mayra, Fornos Law Firm, Los Angeles Fraigun, Marina Kats, Fraigun Law Group, Sherman Oaks Fresch, Elaine K., Selman Breitman, Los Angeles Glaser, Patricia L., Glaser Weil, Los Angeles Grebe, Sibylle, Conover & Grebe, Torrance Greene, Andra B., Irell & Manella, Newport Beach Grignon, Margaret, Grignon Law Firm, Long Beach Hanna, Mona Z., Michelman & Robinson, Irvine Harrison, Genie, Genie Harrison Law Firm, Los Angeles Itkin, Robbin L., DLA Piper (US), Los Angeles Keller, Jennifer L., Keller/Anderle, Irvine Kornfeld, Linda D., Blank Rome, Los Angeles Lee, Irene Y., Russ August & Kabat, Los Angeles Levine, Janet I., Kendall Brill & Kelly, Los Angeles

Lodise, Margaret G., Sacks Glazier Franklin & Lodise, Los Angeles Ly, Geraldine, Law Office of Geraldine Ly, Santa Ana MacIsaac, Suann C., Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert, Santa Monica Masry, Louanne, Masry Law Firm, Westlake Village Matthai, Edith R., Robie & Matthai, Los Angeles Meyer, Lisa Helfend, Meyer Olson Lowy & Meyers, Los Angeles Perrochet, Lisa, Horvitz & Levy, Burbank Phillips, Stacy D., Blank Rome, Los Angeles Rothschild, Kristi D., Rothschild & Alwill, Santa Barbara Savitt, Linda Miller, Ballard Rosenberg Golper & Savitt, Encino Shore, Sussan H., Weinstock Manion, Los Angeles Smith, Jill L., Kleinberg Lange Cuddy & Carlo, Los Angeles Smith, Suzelle M., Howarth & Smith, Los Angeles Sokol, Robyn B., Brutzkus Gubner Rozansky Seror Weber, Woodland Hills Solomon, Amy Fisch, Judicate West, Los Angeles Spagnoli, Christine D., Greene Broillet & Wheeler, Santa Monica Teren, Pam, Teren Law, Redondo Beach Wasser, Laura A., Wasser Cooperman & Mandles, Los Angeles West, Michelle M., Robinson Calcagnie, Newport Beach Westhoff, Pamela L., Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton, Los Angeles Wright, Lauriann, Wright Kim Douglas, Glendale Zitser, Diana P., Zitser Family Law Group, Los Angeles

KAREN S. BROWN

SHARON A. BRYAN

10866 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 400 Los Angeles, CA 90024 Tel: 323-274-2697 Fax: 888-433-3968 karen@ksbfamlaw.com www.ksbfamlaw.com

21515 Hawthorne Boulevard Suite 490 Torrance, CA 90503 Tel: 310-540-8855 Fax: 310-316-1307 sharon@mbsllp.com www.mbsllp.com

LAW OFFICE OF KAREN S. BROWN

MOORE, BRYAN, SCHROFF & INOUE LLP

ESTATE & TRUST LITIGATION ESTATE PLANNING & PROBATE

FAMILY LAW

FAMILY LAW

Beti Tsai Bergman is the founder and principal of Peninsula Law, an elite, boutique firm specializing in probate, trusts, estates, and conservatorships. Bergman created Peninsula Law with the idea of a law firm that does one thing and one thing well, and that is probate law. With that vision and her laser focus on probate law, Bergman built Peninsula Law into a probate powerhouse. Peninsula Law represents fiduciaries, beneficiaries, and families who need help with litigating, planning, and settling estates or pursuing financial elder abuse. Peninsula Law embraces resolution of conflict and goes to trial when necessary. Peninsula Law’s philosophy is to treat clients with judgment, courtesy, and diligence, and build winning cases based on exceptional strategy, analysis, and persuasion.

Attorney Karen Brown is sought after for representation of complex family law matters. For nearly 25 of her 45-year legal career, she was a civil litigator and entertainment attorney. As such, she brings a wide breadth of knowledge and exposure to many fields of law. She services the general Southern California community from her West Los Angeles practice with the objective to resolve and settle cases economically. When necessary, she is also known as a tough, knowledgeable, and aggressive litigator. Ms. Brown has an extensive background representing clients in difficult family law matters, such as high conflict divorce, custody disputes and move-aways, domestic abuse, high-net-worth financial disputes, and pre- and post-nuptial agreements.

Rated by Super Lawyers as a Top 50 Women’s honoree in So.Cal., and by Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent in legal ability and ethical standards; Certified Specialist Family Law by State of California Board of Legal Specialization; USC Gould School of Law; UCLA professional designation in Personal Financial Planning; instructor at California State Bar, and judge pro tem in Los Angeles Superior Court; past president Association of Certified Family Law Specialists; editor ACFLS Newsletter; past president South Bay Women Lawyers; three years State Bar Family Law Executive Committee; editor of Family Law News; president-elect American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, of SoCal Chapter. Litigator, settlement, collaborative.

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ATTORNEYS SELECTED TO SUPER LAWYERS WERE CHOSEN IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROCESS ON PAGE S-1.

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ANNA DARBINIAN

IMMIGRATION LAW FIRM OF ASHERSON, KLEIN & DARBINIAN 8484 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 711 Beverly Hills, CA 90211 Tel: 310-247-6070 Fax: 310-278-8454 ad@asherson.net www.asherson.net

JANET DOCKSTADER

MARYANN GALLAGHER

DOCKSTADER ORLICZKY

LAW OFFICES OF MARYANN GALLAGHER

3020 Old Ranch Parkway Suite 300 Seal Beach, CA 90740 Tel: 562-799-5551 Fax: 562-252-1117 janet@dockstaderlaw.com www.dockstaderlaw.com

205 South Broadway Suite 920 Los Angeles, CA 90012 Tel: 213-626-1810 Fax: 213-626-0961 mail@mpg-law.com www.mpgallagherlaw.com

IMMIGRATION

FAMILY LAW

EMPLOYMENT LITIGATION: PLAINTIFF

Ms. Anna Darbinian has been certified as a specialist in immigration law by the State Bar of California and has been selected for inclusion on the Southern California Super Lawyers lists 10 times, affirming her extensive knowledge and experience. As managing partner of the immigration law firm of Asherson, Klein & Darbinian, she has successfully defended her clients in numerous federal and state courts. She practices all aspects of immigration law, including removal defense. She has represented asylees, detainees, employees, employers, and entertainers, among many others. She resolutely believes that no case – no matter how challenging or complex – is impossible, personifying Napoleon’s famous dictum, “Impossibility is a word found only in the dictionary of fools.”

Janet E. Dockstader is a Certified Family Law Specialist and the managing partner of Dockstader Orliczky, a boutique law firm located in Seal Beach. Practicing family law since 2003, Ms. Dockstader has extensive experience litigating marital and domestic partnership dissolutions and domestic violence issues. In addition, Ms. Dockstader is well versed in negotiating Settlement Agreements that often consider the client’s unique needs. While proceeding through litigation or mediation, Ms. Dockstader listens carefully to her client’s objectives, strategizes with the client and relevant experts and assists the client in making the best choices possible for their particular circumstance. She routinely litigates matters in Long Beach, Los Angeles, Norwalk and Orange County.

Maryann P. Gallagher has been a plaintiff’s attorney practicing Employment Litigation for over 30 Years. She has tried over 40 cases to verdict. In addition to employment verdicts, she has verdicts in products liability, personal injury, labor code violations, medical malpractice, and construction accidents.

Ms. Gallagher has followed her passion for representing employees in all kinds of discrimination and harassment cases. Ms. Gallagher has worked to protect victims of sexual harassment and sexual assault for over 30 years. It is her passion. Ms. Gallagher has held many Fortune 500 companies responsible for gender discrimination, age discrimination, race discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination, disability discrimination, retaliation and sexual harassment.

CYNTHIA E. GITT

KAREN L. GOLDSTEIN

DENA A. KLEEMAN

155 North Lake Avenue Suite 800 Pasadena, CA 91101 Tel: 626-993-6792 Fax: 626-229-1917 cgitt@browngitt.com www.browngitt.com

1645 North Vine Street Suite 306 Los Angeles, CA 90028 Tel: 888-445-6313 Fax: 323-467-7229 kgoldstein@klgcriminaldefense.com www.klgcriminaldefense.com

499 North Canon Drive Suite 200 Beverly Hills, CA 90210 Tel: 310-247-0727 Fax: 310-887-7012 dak@kleemanlaw.com www.kleemanlaw.com

BROWN GITT LAW GROUP ALC

LAW OFFICES OF KAREN L. GOLDSTEIN

KLEEMAN • KREMEN FAMILY LAWYERS

EMPLOYMENT & LABOR ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION BUSINESS LITIGATION

CRIMINAL DEFENSE CRIMINAL DEFENSE: WHITE COLLAR

FAMILY LAW

Cynthia Gitt and her colleagues at Brown Gitt Law Group work with clients to prevent problems, but they are also tough and successful litigators and negotiators when needed. They are thorough and experienced workplace investigators. The firm represents primarily companies in all areas of employment law, and they have many years of experience that enables them to see the whole picture. Ms. Gitt is also an arbitrator for AAA, ARC and NAM, a mediator for ARC and NAM, and enjoys the opportunity to resolve cases quickly and fairly.

Ms. Goldstein is an experienced, aggressive trial lawyer practicing state and federal criminal defense since 2003. She fights hard to obtain victories for her clients accused of serious crimes ranging from murder, child molestation, and white-collar offenses to gang-related crimes, rape, child pornography, and RICO cases. She has a strong reputation in the community for fighting the most challenging of sex crimes cases and remaining undaunted in the face of overwhelming odds. Ms. Goldstein also represents indigent clients in both federal and state court as a member of the Central Justice Act (CJA) conflict panel and the Indigent Criminal Defense Appointment (ICDA) panel. She graduated cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center and magna cum laude from Georgetown University.

Dena A. Kleeman has practiced family law since her 1983 graduation from Stanford Law School, becoming a California Certified Family Law Specialist in 1994. Ms. Kleeman handles complex divorce matters involving business valuation; divorce taxation; real property; and complex compensation, benefits, and intellectual property issues. She prepares premarital agreements to structure her clients’ financial arrangements during marriage and prevent divorce-related problems that might otherwise ensue. Ms. Kleeman aggressively represents her clients in litigation when called for. She teams with experts from other disciplines to assure that her clients receive the most knowledgeable, attentive, and professional services they require for all facets of their family law case.

THERESA J. MACELLARO

PAM TEREN TEREN LAW

THE MACELLARO FIRM, P.C.

225 Avenue I Suite 203 Redondo Beach, CA 90277 Tel: 310-543-2300 Fax: 310-543-2303 pam@terenlawgroup.com www.terenlawgroup.com

1748 Preuss Road Los Angeles, CA 90035 Tel: 310-399-8585 Fax: 310-399-8686 tmacellaro@macellarolaw.com www.MacellaroLaw.com

BUSINESS LITIGATION GENERAL LITIGATION ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

EMPLOYMENT LITIGATION: PLAINTIFF SEXUAL HARASSMENT: PLAINTIFF

Theresa Macellaro is a business and entertainment attorney who handles high-profile litigation in both state and federal court. A Forbes entity selected and interviewed Macellaro as one of America’s Most Influential Women, as did a Fortune entity for America’s Best CEOs and Best Corporate Lawyers. The Los Angeles Lakers and Comerica Bank presented her with their Best of Los Angeles Women’s Business Award for excelling in the legal profession and Los Angeles CityBeat magazine dubbed her a “Powerhouse Litigator.” In 2020, Macellaro received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. Macellaro and her cases have been featured in the Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Daily Journal, New York Daily Journal, and Chicago Tribune, among others.

Pam Teren has dedicated her career to litigating employment cases focusing on sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower and wage violation cases. Pam Teren began her career working on the defense/employer side while working at PaulHastings. Her defense expertise allows her to see defenses early and avoid litigation pitfalls – she has never lost a summary judgment/dismissal motion and enjoys an excellent trial and appellate record. Pam Teren’s combination of defense training, jury trial and appellate court experience give her clients smart and aggressive representation. This maximizes her clients’ settlements and verdicts while providing them with compassionate and reasonable guidance throughout the litigation process.

SUPER LAWYERS – TOP WOMEN | SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 2020

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WOMEN

AN ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF THE WOMEN LAWYERS WHO RANKED TOP OF THE LIST IN THE 2020 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RISING STARS NOMINATION, RESEARCH AND BLUE RIBBON REVIEW PROCESS

Aizman, Diana Weiss, Aizman Law Firm, Encino Atighechi, Maryam, Atighechi Law Group, Beverly Hills Azadian, Ani, Azadian Law Group, Pasadena Bazikyan, Arminé, Bazikyan Law Group, Glendale Bekas, Zoe J., Akerman, Los Angeles Branscome, Kimberly Olvey, Kirkland & Ellis, Los Angeles Bui, Thy B., Constangy Brooks Smith & Prophete, Los Angeles Carson, Rebecca, Irell & Manella, Newport Beach Chung, Tiffany, Law Offices of Tiffany Chung, Los Angeles Crittenden, Danica, Shernoff Bidart Echeverria, Claremont D'Agostino, Elisabeth M., Selman Breitman, Los Angeles DuVan-Clarke, Barbara, Jennifer Kramer Legal, Los Angeles Ezra, Erin (Mindoro), Berger Kahn, Irvine Figari Cowan, Barbara E., Workplace Advocates, Rancho Cucamonga Fund, Cathryn G., JML Law, Woodland Hills Grant, Gali, Glaser Weil, Los Angeles Johnson, Arwen, Boies Schiller Flexner, Los Angeles Kalunian, Monica M., Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, Los Angeles Katz, Corinne B., Katz Law Firm, Los Angeles Khalili, Dalia, Matern Law Group, Manhattan Beach Kim, Helen U., Helen Kim Law, Los Angeles King, Tessa, Reisner & King, Sherman Oaks Kleindienst, Katherine, Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert, Santa Monica Kruska, Lara M., Selman Breitman, Los Angeles Lipski, Jennifer, JML Law, Woodland Hills Lucich, Clare H., Bentley & More, Newport Beach McCall, Lisa R., Law Offices of Lisa R. McCall, Santa Ana

SUSAN HUERTA

KRYSTALE ROSAL

11601 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 2440 Los Angeles, CA 90025 Tel: 310-312-0299 Fax: 310-312-0296 huerta@law-rm.com www.makaremlaw.com

136 East Lemon Avenue Monrovia, CA 91016 Tel: 626-856-5856 krosal@fiorelegal.com www.fiorelegal.com

MAKAREM & ASSOCIATES

LAW OFFICES OF MAURO FIORE, JR.

EMPLOYMENT LITIGATION: PLAINTIFF

PERSONAL INJURY GENERAL: PLAINTIFF

Susan Huerta handles labor and employment matters and has 10 years of experience in employment litigation. She represents plaintiffs against large companies in a variety of individual and class action wage and hour matters, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation and has been instrumental in the litigation of several cases that have achieved verdicts in excess of a $1 million dollars. Huerta has represented clients at all phases of employment disputes, including Employment Development Department disputes, Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims, and state and federal civil litigation matters.

Krystale Rosal manages the injury litigation department at her firm. She has extensive litigation experience in premises liability, wrongful death, dog bite and auto collision matters.

Ms. Rosal routinely achieves remarkable results for her clients by drawing upon her experience in both settling and trying cases. She is familiar with and is able to defuse the tactics used by the defense to undervalue the pain and suffering accident victims are forced to endure. Ms. Rosal is a proud member of CAALA, LACBA and CAOC and is active in charitable causes involving children causes. She is an Honorary Board Member of The LATLC and serves on the advisory committee of the Brain Society of Southern California, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of brain injured adults and children.

S-4 SUPERLAWYERS.COM

McKibben, Molly M., Greene Broillet & Wheeler, Santa Monica Mioni, Lovette T., Mioni Family Law, Redondo Beach Morrow, Xinlin Li, The Morrow Firm, Los Angeles Mossavar, Miranda, Littler Mendelson, Los Angeles Mouradian, Maggie, Weinstock Manion, Los Angeles Munyer, Lindsey F., Keystone Law Group, Los Angeles Nogle, Megan F., Greenberg Glusker, Los Angeles Ortiz-Beljajev, Neyleen S., Beljajev Law Group, Seal Beach Proctor, Amy E., Irell & Manella, Los Angeles Rayfield, (Ashley) Taylor, Greene Broillet & Wheeler, Santa Monica Rhee, Jean Y., Russ August & Kabat, Los Angeles Richardson, Heather L., Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Los Angeles Robinson, Emily F., Dion Law Group, Westlake Village Samani, Michelle, Samani Law Firm, West Hollywood Schulman, Allison M., Law Offices of Allison M. Schulman, Los Angeles Solmer, Lilit, Solmer Law Firm, Huntington Beach Stepanyan, Julieta, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, Los Angeles Stone, Allison, Dolan Law Firm, Los Angeles Wallin, Taylor B., Feinberg Mindel Brandt & Klein, Los Angeles Watanabe-Peagler, Lisa, Rise Law Firm, Beverly Hills Williams, Shani, Russ August & Kabat, Los Angeles Yang, Elizabeth, Law & Mediation Offices of Elizabeth Yang, Monterey Park Yedidsion, Judith, Yedidsion Seber Yedidsion, Beverly Hills

ATTORNEYS SELECTED TO RISING STARS WERE CHOSEN IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROCESS ON PAGE S-1

QAnon Is Ready For Its Close-Up C O N T I N U E D F R O M PAG E 5 3

age of QAnon.

California is no newcomer to Q politics. Former San Juan Capistrano city councilwoman Pam Patterson made news with a farewell speech in 2018 in which she prayed for God to “bless Q.” When Mike Madrid was political director for the California Republican Party in the late 1990s, Pete Wilson was governor, and the main conspiracy theory was that Mexicans were trying to reconquer the southwestern United States. Los Angeles and San Francisco were the cities where the conservative movement was its weakest, and where the conspiracy freaks felt most at home. “It was a handful of fringe activists,” recalls Madrid, founder of the Never Trump Lincoln Project. “Now they’re the nominees—they’re the candidates!”

Q-friendly congressional candidates in California are either true believers or cagey, cynical self-promoters. In the first category is Hayden, who lives in the Bay Area city of Hayward. When a prominent QAnon influencer tweeted about a pro-choice New Zealand abortion law, claiming it legalizes “luciferian child sacrifice” and vouchsafed a supply of human fetal parts to the deep state, Hayden retweeted it. When someone posting as “Q Seeker” said on Twitter that his wife was leaving him over his belief in Q, Hayden advised him to keep the faith: “When it all comes out, your standing FIRM will establish your leadership in your family.”

Mike Cargile and Wendy Cruz, the Q-friendly congressional candidates in Southern California, are in the second category. Both are marketing professionals who have paid lip service to QAnon. “We’re likely to see it emerge as kind of a new Tea Party, a force within the conservative movement pushing politicians, even those who don’t believe in the secret signals of Q, to find it politically valuable to get on QAnon’s side,” says Roose.

According to a report by NBC News correspondents Brandy Zadrozny and Ben Collins, Cruz said that QAnon supporters have “legitimate concerns,” without elaborating what those were, and that they deserve to be respected

as a voting bloc. Cruz, who lives in Palm Springs, has a campaign banner hanging at the local Republican Party headquarters in La Quinta. Cargile’s Twitter bio includes #WWG1WGA, the hashtag for “Where we go one, we go all.” As Los Angeles reported in July, the California GOP quietly removed its endorsement of Cargile from its website after Media Matters revealed that his Facebook and Twitter pages were littered with the Nword and diatribes directed at Blacks, immigrants, Muslims, and the LGBTQ community. The Pomona resident also called the coronavirus a “scamdemic,” and stated that it is “nothing compared to the diseases and plagues headed this way via the rats and the homeless.”

Cargile’s opponent, Congresswoman Norma Torres, says supporters of the GOP challenger have made death threats against her online. “They’re people with extreme anti-government, anti-immigrant views,” says Torres, who emigrated to the U.S. from Guatemala as a child. Torres says she is troubled by the cloak of anonymity that shields QAnon followers. Not long after Ed Mullins, head of the secondlargest NYPD union, gave an interview on Fox News with a QAnon mug in the background, Torres said, “What’s scary is, where do these people work? Could

they be our classroom teachers, our police officers, our crime investigators?”

One former Republican official said the rise of QAnon seemed more pronounced because, in terms of registrations and influence, the party itself is in steep decline. “If QAnon is growing in influence, it’s because the party is shrinking and there are fewer rational voices to drown it out,” the ex-official said. (California GOP chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson declined an interview request after learning that this story was about QAnon.)

Madrid calls QAnon “a parasite feeding off the decaying host of the Republican Party.” He adds that QAnon is an “amorphous glue” that cements what he describes as the “holy trinity of the MAGA coalition: white nationalists, gun fanatics, and conspiracy theorists.” The QAnon supporters running for Congress in California aren’t going to get elected.

But Margorie Taylor Greene in Georgia and Lauren Boebert in Colorado, both identified with QAnon, won primaries in “safe” Republican districts, meaning the general election will be a cakewalk for them. (Boebert has since denied she believes in QAnon.)

“There’s going to be a QAnon caucus in the Republican Congress in 2020,” Madrid says. “Count on it.”

Shopping Directory PAGE 78: GUCCI sweater, $890, and shirt, $790, available at select Gucci stores nationwide by special order, and at gucci.com. ETRO pants, $670, available at etro.com. FERRAGAMO shoes, price on request, available at select Salvatore Ferragamo stores nationwide, and by special order. PAGE 79: FENDI top, $1,980, shorts, $1,100, and jacket, $3,290, at fendi.com. WOLFORD tights, $49, at wolford.com. WALTERS FAITH earrings, $3,300, and ring, $4,250, at waltersfaith.com. PAGE 80: CHANEL dress, belt, and boots, prices on request, at Chanel stores nationwide. PAGE 81: LOUIS VUITTON shirt, $875, available at Louis Vuitton stores nationwide, and louisvuitton.com. LOVERBOY sweater, price on request at Peri-A.com. MISSONI pants, $698, at missoni.com. TIFFANY & CO necklace, $1,900, at Tiffany & Co stores nationwide, and at tiffany.com. GREATS sneakers, price on request, at greats.com. PAGE 82: PHILOSOPHY shirt, $795, at intermixonline.com. CARMEN MOLINA caftan, $1,200, and skirt, $645, at carmenmolina.com, TORY BURCH boots, $748, at 366 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 310-274-2394, and toryburch.com. DRU necklace, $2,145, at drujewelry.com. BONDEYE ring (left hand, pointer finger), $600, at bondeyejewelry.com. SOFIO GONGLI rings (right hand, pointer finger; left hand, middle), price on request, at sofiogongli.com. BEA BONGIASCA ring (right hand, middle finger), price on request, at Peri-A.com. BLANCPAIN VILLERET watch, price on request, at blancpain.com. PAGE 83: CARMEN MOLINA caftan, $1,200, at carmenmolina.com. BROCK COLLECTION dress, $2,560 at modaoperandi.com. MIA BECAR shoes, $695 at miabecar.com. SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO earrings, (right ear) $595, gloves, $495, and bracelet (right wrist), $1,195 at 326 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, and ysl.com. AUDREY C necklace, price on request, at Peri-A.com. SOFIO GONGLI cuff, price on request, at sofiogongli.com. MELINDA MARIA earring (left ear), price on request, at melindamaria.com. PAGE 84: RALPH LAUREN coat, $6,995, at ralphlauren.com. BRANDON MAXWELL turtleneck, $850, at brandonmaxwellonline.com. CHRISTIAN WIJNANTS suit, price on request, at christianwijnants.com. JIMMY CHOO shoes, price on request, at Jimmy Choo stores nationwide and jimmychoo.com. PAGE 85: MAX MARA jacket, $1,790, turtleneck, $575, skirt, $1,290, and tights, $65, at Max Mara, 451 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 310-385-9343, and maxmara.com. CARTIER rings, $8,500 and $1,120, and watch, $31,100, at Cartier boutiques nationwide and at cartier.com. PAGE 86: LOUIS VUITTON jacket, $5,250, and sneakers, $1,090, available at select Louis Vuitton stores and louisvuitton.com. HIRO CLARK hoodie and pants, price on request, at hiroclark.com. PAGE 87: DIOR MEN coat, $4,100, pants, $1,350, shirt and tie, price on request, available at all Dior Men boutiques and dior.com. JIMMY CHOO shoes, price on request, at Jimmy Choo stores nationwide and jimmychoo.com. AUDEMARS PIGUET watch, price on request at Audemars Piguet stores nationwide.

L A M AG . C O M 9 9

EMAIL YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS ABOUT L.A. TO ASKCH RIS@LAMAG.COM

Q

I remember riding a monorail through a brewery when I was a kid. What happened to that?

SKY HIGH

H E R A L D E XA M I N E R CO L L E C T I O N / LO S A N G E L E S P U B L I C L I B R A RY; F E E L S G O O D M A N / D E S I G N E D BY M AT T F U R I E & A RT H U R J O N E S

A:

The owners of Anheuser-Busch, Frank Sinatra, and the mayor of Los Angeles, Samuel Yorty, all crammed into one of a dozen fiberglass-and-magnesium monorail cars to cut the ribbon for the first aerial tour of the Budweiser brewery in Van Nuys on May 26, 1966. The “Skyrail” rolled through the brewhouse, then deposited guests into Busch Gardens, a 17.5-acre park that offered boat rides, bird shows, and free beer. The park closed on Valentine’s Day 1979 to make room for a larger brewery. Two years ago the company briefly resurrected the “Beermaster Tour” in the shadow of the old monorail tracks.

100 L A M AG . C O M

Shadows and Frog THIS CROAKER IS NO PEPÉ LE PEW

A 1963 concept drawing for the Busch Gardens monorail

Q: Is there a 24-hour, on-site hospital at LAX? A: Surprisingly, there has never been a dedicated hospital at the airport.

In fact, according to the Los Angeles Times, LAX is the only major airport in the nation that does not have medical facilities. There is a first-aid station

C H R I S ’S P I C K

housed at the international terminal, but emergency medical calls are routed to three fire stations around the 3,000acre complex. An urgent care clinic on Century Boulevard is open around the clock for last-minute immunizations or to treat minor cuts caused by your suitcase’s zipper.

Q: What’s that golden sculpture on top of the Americana at Brand?

A: England has Britannia, France has Marianne, and America has Columbia, the sword-toting, eagle-bearing, female personification of the United States.

She’s been described as “Uncle Sam’s older and classier sister,” and was popular before the younger, prettier Statue of Liberty eclipsed her.

The original granite version of the sculpture still presides over the American Cemetery at Normandy Beach in France.

Her doppelganger has graced the top of the Americana since it opened in 2008.

Q: What’s the story behind the crumbling mansion that’s been sitting unfinished in Topanga for years?

A: In 2004 Dwell magazine sponsored a competition in which architects vied to design a green house for a wealthy aerospace engineer. The architecture firm Escher Gunewardena won the day with its concept for a glass box under a landscaped roof made of concrete and rice. Work on the project began soon after. But when the basement ate up half the budget, the engineer abandoned the project. It has remained on hold ever since.

Pepe the Frog was minding his own business, chillin’ on the pages of L.A. artist Matt Furie’s psychedelic comic book, Boy’s Club, when he was snatched up and transformed into a symbol of internet hate.

The documentary Feels Good Man, premiering on September 4, follows Pepe from the colorsoaked world of the underground comic to his memeification by white supremacists and conspiracy theorists. (The film’s producer, Caryn Capotosto, was also behind last year’s award-winning documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, about TV’s Mr. Rogers.)

When the AntiDefamation League added the frog to its list of hate symbols, Furie started a battle to rescue his cartoon friend. “Whatever Pepe meant to all these other people,” Furie says, “didn’t mean the same thing to me.”

VOLUME 65, NUMBER 9. LOS ANGELES (ISSN 1522-9149) is published monthly by Los Angeles Magazine, LLC. Principal office: 5900 Wilshire Blvd., 10th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90036. Periodicals postage paid at Los Angeles, CA, and additional mailing offices. The one-year domestic subscription price is $14.95. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to LOS ANGELES, 1965 E. Avis Dr., Madison Heights, MI 48071. Not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or other materials, which must be accompanied by return postage. SUBSCRIBERS: If the Postal Service alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year.

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