The reality star addressed the “haters” after he was called out over the video, giving his reasoning for appearing shirtless while showing the raging Palisades wildfire behind him.
Vanderpump Villa star Eric Funderwhite is receiving backlash over a video he posted to social media amid the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles.
On Thursday, the reality video shared a video on Instagram which featured himself standing shirtless on a highway while the raging Palisades wildfire burned behind him.
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“We’re on PCH. 10 feet away is a fire right here that they can’t control. You can actually feel the flames all the way over here,” Funderwhite said in the clip, gesturing to the blaze as firetrucks flew by. “They’ve already had a fire truck out spraying water, hasn’t done anything. … You see the firemen on top with the flashlight. There’s a bunch of houses up there on fire as well. And the amount of police and firemen is absolutely crazy and you can feel the heat of this fire from all the way across the street. We could actually, you know, we’re 20 yards away. Crazy.”
In the caption, the Hulu star said he had been helping people and animals evacuate.
“We walked through all that chaos looking for people to help and animals to save,” he wrote. “We made it all the way to PCH. It wasn’t a pleasant walk through the smoke and flames but we did it because we care about that person, dog, or cat and our city. I wish there were more men and women in this world with courage to help others but most run away scared rather then into the flames to protect and help with selfless love. If you need help let me know. Don’t give up. ❤️ #LA #dontgiveup #neverquit #love.”
While he claimed he was out there to “help,” many users slammed Funderwhite for posting his video, particularly over the fact that he wasn’t wearing a shirt, with people calling the clip “embarrassing,” a “weird flex,” and just “for attention.”
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“This is so wrong dude….. read the room…,” a user wrote.
“Why are you conveniently shirtless and showing your abs…?,” a second person commented.
“How does being shirtless going to help to put the fire out? If you really care what’s going on, you wouldn’t be posing for the camera. Hope you’re liking the attention you needed,” a user commented, while another said, “you’re such, such an attention starved person. grow up.”
Meanwhile, another commenter called on Funderwhite to “post the footage of you and the videographer saving wildlife!!!! As you said you were doing!”
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina actor Luke Cook even re-shared Funderwhite’s video on his own Instagram profile, writing, “#cringepolice never sleeps.” He also spliced the original clip with his own parody, making fun of the reality star.
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Following the backlash, Funderwhite hit back at the “haters” in a post shared to his Instagram Stories.
He shared a post from the Instagram account Influencers in the Wild, which had footage of him filming his video from another angle and captioned it, No time like the present to show off the gains.”
Alongside their post, he added, “To the haters, you have no clue. We were helping and if your animal or loved one was there you would be happy to have someone out there putting [their] self in danger for them. And thank you to all the others who helped in their own way.”
“This is our city and I’m here for it. Period. We walked miles all throughout there all the way to PCH trying to help,” he added, before sharing why he wasn’t wearing a shirt. “So what if I used my shirt for a mask and took it off for a video to inform what was going on. We know we were doing good and that is all that matters. ❤️.”
Funderwhite appeared in Season 1 of Hulu’s Vanderpump Villa, which aired last year. As the show aired, he was accused by an ex-girlfriend of physical assault. Amid the allegations, Funderwhite was not present at the show’s reunion, which aired in May, with Lisa Vanderpump saying they believed it was “best” he wasn’t in attendance. He was reportedly not addressed the allegations.
As of Friday morning, per CNN, multiple active wildfires — including the Palisades fire, the Eaton fire, the Hurst fire, and the Lidia fire — have led to the evacuation of over 100,000 residents, as hundreds of thousands are without power. It’s been reported that at least 10 people have been killed, and nearly 10,000 structures have been destroyed. According to CNN, citing CalFire, the Palisades and Eaton fires are among the five most destructive in California history.
Stars such as Ricki Lake, Paris Hilton, Ricki Lake, Cameron Mathison, Billy Crystal, Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, Anna Farris, and more have lost their homes, while others have taken to social media to reveal they’ve evacuated their neighborhoods.
