NEW: SNL Icon Rips Into Gavin Newsom

David Spade is taking direct aim at California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, blaming Democratic leadership for what he called Hollywood’s “terrifying” decline.

The former Saturday Night Live star sounded off on a recent episode of his Fly on the Wall podcast, where he said “the Hollywood industry is dying” and admitted he’s “just trying to put the blame somewhere.”

Spade pointed to the bankruptcy filing by the CBS Radford Studio Center in Studio City, a longtime production hub that has hosted decades of TV and film work in Los Angeles. The news hit close to home for Spade, who recalled working there during his sitcom years.

“Dude, I’m so old,” Spade said. “I was on the lot at CBS Radford when we were doing ‘Just Shoot Me.’ … And also they were doing ‘Seinfeld,’ and I’d see him on his bike. It was the greatest lot. Of course, just filed for bankruptcy, the lot. Terrifying in LA Thanks, Karen Bass. Thanks, Gavin.”

Co-host Dana Carvey agreed that the “Hollywood studio system is dying,” arguing the state needs to change course if it wants production to stop fleeing to other locations.

“The amount of productions is dying, and so they have to do something so more production comes back, and that starts with negotiating with the union and also subsidizing the industry tax breaks to compete with Romania,” Carvey said.

Actor David Spade just
EXPOSED a bill that PASSED
in California to audit where
the $20+ billion dollars in
missing homeless money
went, only to be VETOED by
Gavin Newsom. pic.twitter.com/2zFpr9PQp9

— TaraBull (@TaraBull) March 18, 2026

Bass’ office pushed back, insisting the mayor has been working to protect entertainment jobs and expand incentives that keep filming in California.

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“Mayor Bass has championed the entertainment industry because it’s a bedrock of our middle class,” her office said in a statement. “The fact of the matter is that Mayor Bass oversaw the creation of California’s first Film and TV Tax Credit Program as speaker of the State Assembly and backed its expansion last year.”

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But the numbers behind Hollywood’s slump have only fueled the political heat.

Hollywood reportedly lost another 17,000 jobs in 2025, an 18% jump from the year before. Directors Guild of America president Christopher Nolan warned earlier this month that employment for his members is down about 40%, calling it a “very worrying time for the industry.”

Production tracking service FilmLA also reported that filming permits in Los Angeles fell 16% last year, piling onto what it said is a roughly 50% drop since 2018.

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