House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., stopped by a shuttered San Francisco hair salon Monday for a wash and blowout, even though salons there have been closed since March and were notified they could open for outdoor services only on Tuesday, and is shown in a security video walking about the shop without wearing a face mask.
Business owner Erica Kious told Fox News for an exclusive it was a "slap in the face" for Pelosi to come in to have her hair styled.
"It was a slap in the face that she went in, you know, that she feels that she can just go and get her stuff done while no one else can go in, and I can't work," Kious said, adding she could not believe Pelosi was not wearing a mask.
In the security footage obtained by Fox News, which was time stamped Monday at 3:08 p.m. PT, Pelosi is shown walking through the business eSalon with wet hair and wearing a robe, but not wearing a mask over her mouth or nose. She did what appeared to be a cloth covering around her neck.
Kious shared one of the independent stylists who rent chairs in her salon sent her Sunday night, stating she was "sharing this because of what everyone in my industry and my city . . . is going through right now."
She told Fox News on Tuesday the stylist sent her a text message, and a screengrab of the message obtained by Fox News said "I'll be there at 2:45 tomorrow. Pelosi assistant just messaged me to do her hair."
" was like, are you kidding me right now? Do I let this happen? What do I do?" Kious told Fox News.
She added she could not control what her stylists do when they rent chairs from her because they were not paying while the salon was closed.
But she said it was "just disturbing" Pelosi wanted her hair styled even though the shop had been closed for so long and was still not officially open.
"We're supposed to look up to this woman, right?" Kious said.
Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill insisted Pelosi "always wears a mask and complies with local COVID requirements," and she was following the rules.
Kious also pointed out Pelosi got a blowout, even though local coronavirus safety precautions say "you're not supposed to blow-dry hair."
The shop owner said she had been expecting to reopen her salon in July, but at this point, she is a single mom with two small kids and she has no income. She said she got a $12,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan that allowed her to install safety provisions, but she will still be forced to close for good in the next 30-60 days.
"No one can last anymore," she said. "I have also lost 60 percent of my clientele because everyone is fleeing the city."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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