Kourtney Kardashian and Kendra Wilkinson are facing backlash from fans who claim the stars support dumping toxic LA fire waste into disadvantaged communities.
The Kardashians star, 45, and the former Playboy model, 39, joined a number of locals at the Calabasas Landfill protest on Thursday, asking city officials to not put hazardous waste from January’s Palisades fires in the landfill.
The Calabasas Landfill, located approximately 4.8 miles away from the affluent city, is one of three L.A. County sites receiving Phase 2 fire debris, including ash, soil, and home remnants.
Kendra shared a photo of them both posing with a woman who held a sign that read: ‘Dump the toxic waste in Kettleman Hills & Buttonwillow, NOT BY OUR HOMES & SCHOOLS.’
She later cropped the photo to remove what the sign read, but fans on social media blasted them for preferring the waste to be dumped in lower economic areas.
‘”Toxic waste is for the poor” is what she means by dump it in Kettleman Hills,’ one wrote.
Kourtney Kardashian, 45, and Kendra Wilkinson, 39, are facing backlash from fans who claim the stars support dumping toxic LA fire waste into disadvantaged communities
While at the Calabasas Landfill protest on Thursday the two posed with a woman who held a sign that read: ‘Dump the toxic waste in Kettleman Hills & Buttonwillow, NOT BY OUR HOMES & SCHOOLS’
Kendra initially shared the photograph with the full sign, before later cropping the photo to remove it
‘It is unfortunate we have this toxic waste in the first place, but just demanding it get dumped in a lower income area where people do live is an incredibly privileged and disgusting way of thinking.’
‘Holy hell… the people and the environment of buttonwillow and Kettleman are already disadvantaged… this post is astonishingly disrespectful and ignorant,’ another wrote.
‘So dump it in a poorer neighborhood?’ someone asked.
‘Your calabasas or whatever it’s called is no more important than Buttonwillow and Kettleman!’
‘Where do you expect the waste to go then? The poorer communities landfills?’
‘I have screenshots of the original. I just wanted to know why it’s ok to dump in other cities?’
‘Wish you guys were a little bit more educated before standing in protest for this!’ another fan chimed in.
Kourtney was also called out for previously being listed as one of the worst water wasters in her swanky neighborhood during the 2022 California drought.
‘Keep in mind you have someone in this photograph that used the most water in all of Calabasas during the drought. Unfortunately, some of these people only speak up about environmental issues when they directly affect them, and there are people in this photo that negatively contribute to our environment, significantly more than many other people in this world.’
Aside from the Hazardous Waste Facility, the Kettleman Hills are also known for the Kettleman North Dome Oil Field. The presence of the oil field and the hazardous waste facility has raised environmental concerns for residents in the past.
Meanwhile the Lokern Hazardous waste facility is located near Buttonwillow, a relatively small unincorporated community located in the San Joaquin Valley, in Kern County, California.
‘Holy hell… the people and the environment of button willow and Kettleman are already disadvantaged… this post is astonishingly disrespectful and ignorant,’ one fan blasted the duo
Fans on social media blasted them for preferring the waste to be dumped in lower economic areas
The Calabasas Landfill is in proximity to an elementary school, and the residents believe the debris poses an ongoing health threat to the locals.
During the protest, Kourtney gave an interview to local news stations, and said, ‘We just want to make sure that it’s not coming here, and that it goes to a place where there’s no people around.’
When asked what she wanted to say to Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, 57, the Poosh founder replied, ‘Protect Calabasas, please. It’s not cool that all this is coming here.’
‘It’s not cool that all these toxic chemicals are coming to Calabasas,’ she added.
She was also pictured holding a sign that read ‘Fill our hydrants, not our dumps!!!’
Other signs at the protest read: ‘Protect Calabasas No Toxic Fire Waste!’ as well as ‘Not Here. Not Now’ and ‘Protect Our Health, Protect Our Space – Find A Safer Better Place.’
Another sign hit out at Newsom with the statement, ‘Newsom is anti-environment.’ There were also signs that read, ‘Don’t Poison My Playground!’ and ‘Calabasas Is Not an Ashtray.’
Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene, resulting in one arrest.
The protest occurred after L.A. County Superior Court Judge Stephen Goorvitch rejected a temporary restraining order aimed at preventing ash disposal in Calabasas.
Despite the setback, residents are continuing their campaign to have the toxic waste moved to a distant desert area.
After attending the protest, Kourtney shared some photos along with a lengthy caption to her instagram.
After attending the protest, Kourtney shared some photos along with a lengthy caption to her instagram
‘We do not want to slow down the Palisades cleanup but to simply have the debris brought to the desert where there are no people in harms way,’ she wrote
‘No fire waste in residential communities!’ another sign read
Kourtney also shared a photo of her daughter Penelope Disick, 12, holding a sign that read ‘Our kids over contamination’
During the protest, Kourtney gave an interview to local news stations, and said, ‘We just want to make sure that it’s not coming here, and that it goes to a place where there’s no people around’
‘I went protest today with my incredible friends and fellow Calabasas residents who want to keep Calabasas the most special place to live…it is not a place where toxic and harmful ash should be dumped right next to schools and parks, which could affect our children’s health and fertility and so much more,’ she wrote.
‘Calabasas has always cared about the environment and the health and happiness of its citizens, with its no smoking rule, plastic bag ban, plastic straw ban and bright sky ordinance (no light pollution so we can see the stars).’
She went on: ‘It is illegal to throw away batteries, for construction sites to dump any harmful asbestos or anything in our Calabasas landfill. So it seems so mind-blowing that our government officials would actively decide to put hazardous, dangerous and severely unhealthy materials in the heart of a healthy, thriving community that strives to be thoughtful and proactive.’
She added that in Calabasas ‘we are building the largest animal crossing in the state and possibly in the country. This trash site is only about a mile away from a corridor that we are building to ensure the health, well-being and success of animal migration and insurance of not putting our local mountain lions in the threat of extinction and interbreeding. Once again, does this seem to make any sense to you?’
Kourtney then appealed to city officials, stating, ‘You have a chance to make a positive intelligent decision about the long term health of this city and of this state. I challenge you to really think about what you were doing and if you would want and toxic waste next to your home, next to your children’s school,
next to your work, next to your park and your environment that you work so hard to be a part of.’
‘This is not a fact of being selfish or not wanting something that you just don’t want. This is a fact of sustaining the healthy, unique biome that Calabasas is, and it has always been.’
‘We do not want to slow down the Palisades cleanup but to simply have the debris brought to the desert where there are no people in harms way. Thank you for your time!’
Kourtney also shared a photo of her daughter Penelope Disick, 12, holding a sign that read ‘Our kids over contamination.’
When asked what she wanted to say to Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, 57, the Poosh founder replied, ‘Protect Calabasas, please. It’s not cool that all this is coming here’
There were also signs that read, ‘Don’t Poison My Playground!’ and ‘Calabasas Is Not an Ashtray’
The protest occurred after L.A. County Superior Court Judge Stephen Goorvitch rejected a temporary restraining order aimed at preventing ash disposal in Calabasas
The Kardashians all had to evacuate their Hidden Hills and Calabasas mansions during the LA fires.
They had to leave after an apocalyptic, fast-moving inferno, named the Kenneth Fire, threatened to rip through the desirable neighborhoods – with the famous family all living just six miles from one another.
Fortunately for the famous family, none of their homes were affected by the fires.
Evacuation orders for Calabasas and Hidden Hills were later lifted.
Not all were so fortunate, as the homes of Mel Gibson, Paris Hilton, Anthony Hopkins, Tina Knowles, John Goodman, Candy Spelling, Milo Ventimiglia, and Miles Teller were among those destroyed.
The Los Angeles fires, which burned for weeks as firefighters worked to get them under control, killed at least 29 people, destroyed more than 16,000 structures and torched over 57,000 acres of land in the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Pasadena and Altadena.
The total economic loss from the fires is estimated to be $250 billion, which includes factors such as anticipated cleanup costs, housing displacement and businesses shutting down.
Real estate losses from the Palisades and the Eaton fires are predicted to surpass $30 billion, according to the Los Angeles Times.
