Gavin Newsom stated his hair was set on fire during the Palisades fire.

Liar, liar — Is your hair on fire?

Accusations have ignited outrage on social media after Governor Gavin Newsom claimed during an old interview that his signature slicked-back hair caught fire while he was assessing damage from the Palisades fire in Los Angeles earlier this year.

“When we all turned around, I was on the hill with them, and my hair literally exploded. I have a video of it,” Newsom stated. “And they threw me in the car, and the guy hit me by the hair and said, ‘Get out of here!’

The Palisades Fire started in the Santa Monica Mountains on January 7 and scorched over 23,000 acres before it was fully controlled. The final damage report linked the fire to arson, resulting in 12 fatalities, four injuries, and the destruction of 6,837 structures, with an additional 973 affected. A state of emergency was declared by Newsom on the same day.

The governor’s office did not provide comments about when or where his hair allegedly caught fire. Newsom’s remarks from his appearance on The Sean Ryan Show in July have led to a wave of memes, especially after he adopted a unique sitting posture during a recent interview at the New York Times Dealbook Summit.

Frequent contributor on X, Kevin Dalton, even created an AI-generated clip showing Newsom’s hair ablaze before he jumped into a limousine.

The Orange County Republican Party quipped, “Newsom claims his hair was on fire, but is there a video of it? Release Newsom’s hair file!”

Ross Gerber, a resident of Palisades for seven years who lost his home in the fire, expressed skepticism over Newsom’s account, noting he was present when the fire ignited.

“Where’s the video? I’m sure he has it on his phone because I was there,” Gerber said. “I’m angry that I almost died fighting a fire near my house.” He pointed out that the governor’s command post was situated not far from his residence.