Yashar Ali
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Yashar Ali (born Yashar Ali Hedayat; fa, یاشار علی هدایت ; November 23, 1979) is an American journalist who has contributed to ''
HuffPost ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'',
NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...
, and ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
'' magazine. In 2019, Ali was included in Time Magazine’s list of the most influential people on the internet, in part due to his large
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
presence.


Early life and education

Ali was born into an Iranian family in Chicago. He grew up in
Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated in ...
, and attended Holy Cross High School in River Grove. Ali later moved to Los Angeles, working as a television production assistant on shows like '' E.R.'' and ''
Chicago Hope ''Chicago Hope'' is an American medical drama television series, created by David E. Kelley. It originally aired on CBS from September 18, 1994, to May 4, 2000. The series is set in a fictional private charitable hospital in Chicago, Illinois. ...
''.


Career


Politics

Following his stint working in TV, Ali worked as a volunteer on Kevin Feldman’s unsuccessful campaign to unseat
United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
Henry Waxman Henry Arnold Waxman (born September 12, 1939) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from California from 1975 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party. His district included much of the western part of the city of L ...
and then on
Steve Westly Steven Paul Westly (born August 27, 1956) is an American venture capitalist, entrepreneur, educator, and politician. He was the State Controller of California from 2003 to 2007 and was one of the top candidates in the Democratic primary for Gov ...
’s campaign for
Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...
. Through
Hassan Nemazee Hassan Nemazee (born January 27, 1950) is a multimillionaire Iranian-American investment banker and convicted felon. Life Nemazee was born in Washington, D.C., on January 27, 1950, and attended Landon School, graduating in 1968. He received hi ...
, Ali was introduced to
Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he was co-chairman of President Bill Clinton's 1996 ...
who secured him a job on
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
's 2008 presidential campaign. Following Clinton's defeat in the
United States presidential election, 2008 The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator fr ...
, Ali relocated from Los Angeles to
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, securing a position on
Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...
's 2010 gubernatorial campaign, before Newsom dropped out of the race. Ali was later appointed as Newsom's deputy chief of staff. Through his work in Newsom's office, Ali befriended oil heiress
Ariadne Getty Ariadne Getty (formerly Williams; born 1962) is an Italian-born American philanthropist, businesswoman, and film producer. Early life and family Getty was born in Rome, Italy to Sir John Paul Getty, a philanthropist, and Abigail Harris, a wa ...
and began borrowing large sums of money from her, leading to her suing Ali to recover the $179,000 she'd loaned. Ali subsequently agreed to begin repaying the loan in monthly installments, but eventually defaulted.


Kathy Griffin

After departing his employment with Newsom, Ali returned to Los Angeles and worked as a cook and personal assistant for
Kathy Griffin Kathleen Mary Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an American comedian and actress who has starred in television comedy specials and has released comedy albums. In 2007 and 2008, Griffin won Primetime Emmy Awards for her reality show '' Kathy ...
in exchange for boarding and use of a car. In 2019, Griffin asked Ali to leave her home. According to
Joan Walsh Joan Maureen Walsh (born September 18, 1958) is a liberal American political pundit and journalist. Walsh is national affairs correspondent for ''The Nation,'' and was previously an on-air political analyst at CNN and MSNBC. She produced the 202 ...
, Griffin was "too intimidated" by Ali to ask him to leave earlier, though she had desired he do so. Speaking of his time with Griffin, Ali has said that he has "grappled a lot with entering into codependent relationships of all sorts".


Twitter and journalism

While working with Griffin, Ali began building a Twitter following. He has variously been described as a "quasi-journalist", "gossip columnist", "journalist" and "social media influencer". According to ''
The San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...
'', Ali also worked as a federal lobbyist and has given thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates. Ali served as then-
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
mayor
Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...
's deputy chief of staff. After working in
California Democratic Party The California Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in Sacramento. With 43.5% of the state's registered voters as of 2018, the Democratic Party has the highest number of r ...
politics, Ali moved to New York City and contributed to multiple media publications. On August 4, 2017, Ali reported allegations that
Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
commentator
Eric Bolling Eric Thomas Bolling (; born March 2, 1963) is an American television personality, conservative political commentator, author, and financial commentator. He has occupied numerous roles as a commentator on financial issues for television, most no ...
had sent unsolicited lewd text messages and photos to three female colleagues at Fox News or
Fox Business Network Fox Business (officially known as Fox Business Network, or FBN) is an American business news channel and website publication owned by the Fox News Media division of Fox Corporation. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios at 1211 Avenue ...
. In response to the report, Bolling filed a $50 million
defamation Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
against Ali. Ali said he stood behind the accuracy of his story and would protect his sources. In October 2020, Ali reported allegations that the mayor of Los Angeles,
Eric Garcetti Eric Michael Garcetti (born February 4, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles from 2013 until 2022. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was first elected in the 2013 Los An ...
, witnessed sexual misconduct by his top aide, Rick Jacobs, but took no action. Within this piece, Ali disclosed that he had been forcibly kissed by Jacobs multiple times. Garcetti’s nomination for
United States Ambassador to India The United States Ambassador to India is the chief diplomatic representative of United States in India. The U.S. Ambassador's office is situated at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. Chiefs of Mission to India U.S. Ambassadors to the Dominion of ...
has since been stalled in regards to these allegations. On February 12, 2021, Ali reported that the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
had been actively investigating allegations against
Lincoln Project The Lincoln Project is an American political action committee (PAC) formed in late 2019 by former and current moderate Republicans. During the 2020 presidential election, it aimed to prevent the re-election of Donald Trump and defeat all Rep ...
co-founder John Weaver. Weaver had been accused of sexual misconduct and workplace abuse by numerous men. On March 16, 2021, Ali reported that television personality
Sharon Osbourne Sharon Rachel Osbourne (née Levy, later Arden; born 9 October 1952) is a British-American television personality, music manager and author. She is married to heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence while appearing ...
had allegedly used racist and homophobic slurs against several her co-workers for years. This included allegations that she called
Julie Chen Julie may refer to: * Julie (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Julie'' (1956 film), an American film noir starring Doris Day * ''Julie'' (1975 film), a Hindi film by K. S. Sethumadhava ...
a "wonton" and "slanty-eyes". Osbourne later left '' The Talk'' due to these allegations. On June 9, 2021, ''
Los Angeles magazine ''Los Angeles'' magazine is a monthly publication dedicated to covering Los Angeles. Founded in the spring of 1961 by David Brown, the magazine is currently owned and published by Hour Media Group, LLC. Los Angeles magazine's combination of feat ...
'' published an in-depth profile on Ali's background and rise to fame written by journalist Peter Kiefer, who interviewed Ali as part of the story. The piece explored the extent of Ali's vast connections in politics and the entertainment industry, and reported several allegations against Ali, documenting several personal relationships with wealthy individuals which ended in furor over financial manipulation or misconduct by Ali, as well as raising suspicions about Ali's journalistic sources, charitable fundraising techniques, and personal bias towards targets of his investigations. On June 7, 2022, writer Parker Molloy published an article in which Ali rejected many of the allegations put forth by Kiefer. Additionally, Ali criticized the journalistic process of the Kiefer article, specifically claiming that he was not informed of the claims against him, and that there were many factual errors within the piece itself.


Personal life

Ali describes himself as a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, having converted from
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
. Ali self-identifies as a strong opponent of
Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement. The most recent published census data indi ...
, describing it as a “dangerous, criminal cult”; he has been a guest on the
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
''Scientology: Fair Game'' hosted by Leah Remini and
Mike Rinder Michael John Rinder (; born 10 April 1955) is an Australian-American former senior executive of the Church of Scientology International (CSI) and the Sea Organization based in the United States. From 1982 to 2007, Rinder served on the board of d ...
in the past. He is openly gay. He is well known for his love of elephants, and often posts content related to them. According to Ali, he has
ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inapp ...
and depression, and has a strained relationship with his family. During the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
pandemic and ensuing financial crisis, Ali offered direct financial support through services such as
Venmo Venmo is an American mobile payment service founded in 2009 and owned by PayPal since 2013. Venmo was aimed at friends and family who wish to split bills, e.g. for movies, dinner, rent, or event tickets etc. Account holders can transfer funds t ...
to assist people in need.


See also

*
LGBT culture in New York City New York City is home to one of the largest LGBTQ populations in the world and the most prominent. Brian Silverman, the author of ''Frommer's New York City from $90 a Day,'' wrote the city has "one of the world's largest, loudest, and most power ...
* List of LGBT people in New York City *
New Yorkers in journalism New York City has been called the media capital of the world. Many journalists work in Manhattan, reporting about international, American, business, entertainment, and New York metropolitan area-related matters. New Yorkers in journalism A * ...


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Yashar American lobbyists American male non-fiction writers American political journalists Living people American people of Iranian descent American LGBT writers Writers from Oak Park, Illinois 1979 births LGBT people from Illinois