Gavin Newsom rolls out fake accent, claims he grew up poor and 'hustled to pay bills'

WASHINGTON, DC: California Governor Gavin Newsom is making waves online after claiming a radically different upbringing in an effort to appear more relatable.

During a recent appearance on NBC’s podcast 'All the Smoke', Newsom described growing up poor and adopting what he called a “ghetto” accent. He recounted hustling to pay bills and surviving on Wonder Bread and mac and cheese, painting a starkly different picture from his well-known privileged background.

Gavin Newsom paints a new picture of himself 

Gavin Newsom shared details of his childhood during the interview, describing how his mother, who divorced his father when she was young, worked multiple jobs to support the family.

“My mom was 19, pregnant, and divorced a few years later with two kids,” he said. “Came from no money and just hustled. Worked hard, grinding every single day. Two and a half jobs, no bulls**t.”

He continued, “We had roommates all the time because she couldn’t afford the rent. It was about paying the bills, man. It was just like hustling. I was out there kind of raising myself, turning on the TV, getting obsessed. Sitting there with the Wonder Bread and macaroni and cheese.”

He added that he spent most of his childhood practicing sports in the backyard, saying, “Every day in the backyard, bouncing the basketball, throwing the ball against the wall unit, entertaining yourself. Then this shitty student, head down, started throwing. The baseball got a little faster. I started making a few free throws, practicing 500 of them every night in high school. It just saved me and got me into college.”

The video also showed a noticeable shift in Newsom’s speaking style, with phrases like “paying the bills, man” and “hustling,” which many interpreted as an attempt to sound more relatable. Critics pointed out that his usual public voice carries the standard tone of a politician, making this sudden accent shift seem forced.

Conservative commentators were quick to question his authenticity.

One user wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Gavin’s father, William Newsom, had a net worth of around $5 million. He was a lawyer for the Getty Trust—one of the wealthiest families in the world."

Another said, “Gavin Newsom is so full of st, it’s unbelievable. This privileged pasty white piece of st grew up rich as f**k."

A third added, “Newsom acting like he’s from the streets and they believe him,” calling out what they saw as a performative narrative.

What did Gavin Newsom’s father William Newsom do?

Gavin Newsom has often shared stories portraying a tough upbringing to appear more relatable to voters. Over the summer, he said he slept on the couch while his sister slept in a hallway because their mother rented out their spare bedroom.

Critics, however, highlight that his late father, William Newsom—a former associate justice on the California Court of Appeals—worked closely with the Getty family, managing their assets. William Newsom even helped deliver the ransom payment after John Paul Getty III’s kidnapping.

In a 2003 San Francisco Chronicle interview, William Newsom acknowledged that his 1968 Senate campaign left him in debt and cost him his law practice. “I was around people of wealth, but I never had any money, nor did Gavin,” he said.

Still, after graduating from Santa Clara University, Gavin Newsom launched the PlumpJack Group winery with financial backing from the Getty family. A Newsom spokesperson told the New York Post, “Anyone with more than an inch of curiosity would know that Governor Newsom was raised by his mother after her divorce from his father when he was three years old. He has talked about moving between two different worlds, but he was raised by a mother who worked three jobs at one point — secretary, waitress, and paralegal.”

Newsom attended kindergarten and first grade at École Notre Dame des Victoires, a Catholic school, before navigating life between his mother’s modest home and his father’s wealthy social circle.

This article contains remarks made on the internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.