After House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) accused her of orchestrating a “setup,” a GoFundMe page supporting San Francisco salon owner Erica Kious quickly amassed more than $147,000 in 24 hours and continues to climb.
With a stated goal of $300k, the GoFundMe claims that Kious, owner of eSalon, will now have to shut down and relocate as a result of Pelosi’s attacks on her.
“Erica Kious, a single mother of two and owner of eSalon, where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi got her hair done on Monday, is now being forced to shut down and relocate her business and family due to outrage and threats she is receiving,” the page claims.
“A maskless House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited eSalon on Monday afternoon for a wash and blow-out, despite local ordinances keeping salons closed amid the coronavirus pandemic,” it continues. “San Francisco’s coronavirus guidelines allowed hair salons to reopen their businesses for outdoor services starting Tuesday, with clients seen one at a time. Haircuts are permitted, according to the guidance, but shampooing and hair coloring services are not.”
The page, which was set up by Erica’s family friend, Amy Tarkanian, goes on to conclude that all donations will be in the service of Erica and her business by helping to pay off any debts or relocation expenses. As of this writing, it has accumulated $147,190.
Earlier this week, Kious found herself at the center of a leftist hate storm when surveillance video emerged of Pelosi visiting her salon for a wash and blowout in violation of local ordinances that kept salons closed. In the video, Pelosi was also not wearing a mask, which Kious found “disrespectful,” considering that her business and her employees have been suffering under policies that Pelosi has vocally supported.
In response to the online backlash, Pelosi actually demanded that the salon apologize, saying she was victim to a “setup.”
“So I take responsibility for falling for a setup. And that’s all I’m going to say on that,” Pelosi said. “I think that this salon owes me an apology, for setting me up. I take responsibility for trusting the word of the neighborhood salon that I’ve been to over the years many times, and when they said, ‘We’re able to accommodate people one person at a time.’ I trusted that.”
“The salon owes me an apology for setting me up,” she added.
Speaking with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Kious said that there is no way she could have set Pelosi up, considering that she has been a customer of the salon for several years, during which she has had a surveillance system.
“There was no way I could’ve set that up,” Kious said. “I’ve had a camera system in there for five years. I mean, I didn’t go in there and turn cameras on as soon as she walked in and set her up. So that is absolutely false.”