The salon owner blamed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for a “setup” has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in a fundraiser after receiving threats.
A GoFundMe page set up for Erica Kious, the owner of San Francisco’s eSalon, reached its fundraiser target of $300,000 in less than a week.
In an interview with Fox News, Kious thanked donors for their “empathy and generosity.”
“I am very humbled and grateful to have received such an outpouring of kindness, empathy, and generosity from people I don’t even know and from all walks of life and all sides of the political spectrum,” she said. “It’s a powerful reminder that the common things that bind us all together as Americans are far more meaningful and lasting than political and ideological differences that get so much attention and focus.”
The speaker of the House visited the salon in late August, breaking San Francisco’s coronavirus rules that forbade salons from opening. Kious subsequently released security camera footage, which showed Pelosi walking through the salon unmasked.
San Francisco salons later opened for outdoor service only on Sept. 1.
Kious described the visit as a “slap in the face,” adding that Pelosi “feels that she can just go and get her stuff done while no one else can go in, and I can’t work.”
In response to the video, Pelosi said that she had been set up by the salon and was owed an apology but did not apologize for breaking San Francisco’s COVID-19 regulations.
“I take responsibility for trusting the word of a neighborhood salon that I’ve been to over the years many times and that when they said what we’re able to accommodate people, one person at a time, and that we can set up that time, I trusted that,” Pelosi said at a press conference last week. “So, I take responsibility for falling for a setup.”
The fundraiser by Amy Tarkanian, the former chairwoman of the Nevada GOP, on behalf of Kious, said that the salon owner had received threats and that all money raised will go to settling debts and reopening the salon in a new location.
As of Tuesday evening, the fundraiser had garnered over $313,000 in donations. In a message on the fundraising page, Tarkanian said, “THANK YOU to the thousands of people from across the nation who donated and sent encouraging messages.
“I’m honored to help a friend and to have been a part of this. If it’s safe enough for NV Gov Sisolak to enjoy dining out while listening to ‘ambiance’ music, NY Gov Cuomo to walk his dog or hop on a plane without a mask, or for CA Speaker Pelosi to not only make an appointment in her district but then get her hair done without wearing a mask, then it should be ok for the rest of us to open safely and resume living!”
