Fabián Basabe (born March 30, 1978) is an American businessman and former

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

star who has served as a member of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

for the 106th district since November 8, 2022.

Early life and education

Basabe was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to an American mother and an Ecuadorian father. In 1987, Basabe's family moved to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, where his parents operated a hotel. He graduated from

Cheshire Academy Cheshire Academy is a co-educational college preparatory school located in Cheshire, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1794 as the Episcopal Academy of Connecticut, it is the eleventh oldest boarding school in the United States. In 1917, th ...

. He studied international relations at

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

before moving to

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, where he became a socialite and television personality.

Career

Prior to entering politics, Basabe appeared in the reality television series '' Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive''. He was elected to the

in November 2022. In 2021, Basabe filed to run for Miami Beach City Commissioner, but was removed from the ballot when it was found he did not meet the Miami Beach one-year residency requirement. Basabe describes himself as

fiscally conservative In American political theory, fiscal conservatism or economic conservatism is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism, limited government, an ...

and

socially liberal Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...

Legal issues

In 2016, Basabe was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct in Miami Beach after he climbed on the roof of a car and shouted at pedestrians as the vehicle traveled down Washington Avenue. The ''Miami New Times'' reported Basabe's encounter with U.S. Marshals in August 2020, when "armed agents surrounded him on his boat in a marina near Charleston,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

." According to the report, "agents were acting on an outstanding warrant after Basabe allegedly failed to address a criminal charge arising from a Miami Beach incident in which he grabbed a neighbor's phone." Basabe was extradited from South Carolina to Florida. State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle asked Governor DeSantis to reassign Basabe's case to a different jurisdiction after Basabe repeatedly tried to influence the prosecutor. On April 13, 2023, CBS 4 Miami reported an allegation that Basabe physically assaulted his 25-year-old legislative aide. In a statement to CBS 4, the aide claimed Basabe had been drinking after Governor

Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician, attorney, and former United States Navy, naval officer serving as the 46th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Pa ...

's inauguration on January 3, before slapping him in the face and demanding he stand in a corner. The law firm hired by the Florida House leadership to conduct an investigation into the slapping concluded that the incident was "inconclusive." In May 2023, two male aides filed complaints with the Florida House, alleging Basabe sexually harassed them, saying he told them he wanted to have sex and wanted to be a "bottom" while they could be "tops". A legislative aide said Basabe slapped him on the buttocks during a visit to a local elementary school and said, "I want all of that butt." A volunteer in Basabe's office claimed that Basabe instructed him to openly flirt with him when they were at the state capitol. Both men say Basabe showed them a photo of a naked man on his phone. Basabe denied the accusations, calling them "ridiculous." On July 6, 2023, the aide and an intern filed a lawsuit in Leon County, Florida, asserting that Basabe battered both of them, and the aide and his mother have alleged that Basabe defamed them after Basabe posted a Twitter statement about them calling them a mother-son con duo, and claiming that an investigation conducted by a law firm has concluded "rightly in isfavor" but which had, in fact, been found to be "inconclusive." The lawsuit was later amended by the aide and the intern to add three counts of sexual harassment. On October 25, 2024, the Miami Herald published an article stating that writer Aaron Liebowitz had been contacted by a man, whom they referred to with the pseudonym "Michael," after Michael had seen an article about the July 2023 lawsuit.https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article294505709.html Michael stated that in 2003, Basabe invited him to his condo for an after party, and while Michael, who is straight, was there, Basabe hit on him and gave him a drugged drink, and then when Michael was incapacitated, Basabe proceeded to take Michael's penis into his mouth, and sodomized him. As with the lawsuit filed against him in July 2023, Basabe claimed the accusations were false.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basabe, Fabián Living people Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Politicians from Miami Beach, Florida Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Florida American politicians of Ecuadorian descent Cheshire Academy alumni 1978 births 21st-century members of the Florida Legislature