Mark Wahlberg's wife Rhea Durham puts Gavin Newsom on blast for ‘standing around laughing’ amid LA fires

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The California wildfires have sparked more than just flames; they’ve unleashed a wave of frustration from celebrities — the latest reaction coming from Mark Wahlberg’s wife Rhea Durham.

The fury is aimed squarely at state and local leaders like Governor Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass, who many feel dropped the ball in handling the crisis.

Rhea Durham calls out Gavin Newsom’s 'tailgate' demeanor

Rhea Durham snapped when she saw a photo of Governor Gavin Newsom at the Palisades Fire base camp in Malibu, looking relaxed. Standing with his hands in his pockets and laughing with a group of people, Newsom’s casual demeanor didn’t sit well with the model.

Durham posted the photo on Instagram, captioning it: “Why is the Governor of C.A standing around laughing like he’s at a tailgate???”

Though the post was quickly deleted, the internet caught receipts. Reps for Durham and Wahlberg remained tight-lipped when reached for comment, but Newsom’s team tried to diffuse the backlash.

Newsom’s director of communications Izzy Gardon defended the moment. “Anyone who’s been through a tragedy knows there are lighthearted moments and moments of sorrow, as the governor has witnessed himself on the ground in Los Angeles over the past three days, meeting countless firefighters, first responders, and victims of this tragedy," he said.

Lorenzo Lamas and Sarah Michelle Gellar slam “despicable” leadership

Actor Lorenzo Lamas joined the growing chorus, using words like “absolutely despicable” to describe LA’s leadership during an interview with Fox News.

"It angers me so much because I see this as something that could have been avoided," Lamas said Friday. "I mean, I'll go out there on a limb and tell you that if this happened a year from now and not now, we'd have a different, probably, set of circumstances."

"At least I think Los Angeles would have been a little bit better prepared a year from now than we are now," he continued. "And I'm talking about from an administrative level."

Lamas, who grew up in Pacific Palisades — one of the hardest-hit areas — was especially heartbroken over the devastation of landmarks like Will Rogers State Park. "It's just absolutely devastating. And it angers me to no end that we were not prepared for this. I mean, I could go into a whole list of things," he fumed.

"I'm just praying for the people that have been affected by this fire that have lost everything — them, their families, the families of the people that have perished," Lamas added. "It's absolutely despicable."

Sarah Michelle Gellar wasn’t pulling any punches, either. As the Palisades Fire burned through LA, Gellar called out the city for its lack of emergency planning.

“City of LA, you want everyone to evacuate yet you have complete gridlock and not one traffic cop on the roads helping,” she posted on her Instagram story, tagging the City of Los Angeles and Mayor Karen Bass.

Mel Gibson and Patricia Heaton chime in

Mel Gibson took a lighter approach during an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast. He quipped that “all our tax dollars probably went to Gavin’s hair gel" instead of wildfire prevention.

Gibson, who lives in Pacific Palisades, was doubtful whether his home would survive. He also blasted Newsom for not following through on promises from 2019 to invest in forest management. "In 2019, Newsom said he would take care of the forest. He didn't do anything," Gibson said.

Patricia Heaton kept it real, pointing to California’s fire department budget cuts as a major issue.

"We have a mayor who cut the budget of the fire department in California by over $17 million. Fire is the biggest hazard in Los Angeles. Why would you cut the budget?" Heaton asked. "There was no water in the fire hydrants in the Palisades. And, by the way, she wasn't even in town during, like, fire season. A completely stupid trip to Ghana."

The Palisades Fire has been driven by powerful Santa Ana winds, quickly spreading from 200 acres to nearly 3,000 within hours. The wildfires have claimed the lives of at least 16 people thus far, with officials stating that the full death toll remains uncertain as the fires are still ongoing, NBC News reported.