California gubernatorial hopeful Katie Porter was recently filmed giving a staff member a sharp look after addressing a lighting issue during a Zoom interview. This clip of her temper has started making the rounds online.
The newly surfaced footage portrays the former congresswoman, who has faced criticism for her often confrontational demeanor, interacting with staff during a 2021 interview.
In the brief video, Porter appears on screen and promptly asks someone to turn off the “bright lights.” She then shifts her tone slightly, smiling and apologizing for the request.
However, she quickly interrupts herself to demand again that the lights be turned off. “Turn it off. This is killing me,” Porter expressed before returning to her audience, asking them to wait, and then launching into a critique of another team member. A tense clip has been circulating on social media.
When the lights were finally dimmed, Porter remarked, “It’s not that dark!” as she shot an annoyed glance.
The footage adds to the scrutiny Porter has been under, particularly after she labeled a CBS reporter “argumentative” in a different interview and reacted strongly when faced with a simple question about President Trump and his appeal to Republicans.
“I don’t want to continue this. I’m done with it,” she declared during that heated moment, which quickly went viral.
In a strange twist, Porter argued that a news interview featuring similar questions aimed at other gubernatorial candidates was overly complicated by follow-up inquiries.
“Mr. Porter, I’m an investigative reporter,” journalist Julie Watts replied, taken aback by Porter’s reaction. “Did you really not want to talk to a reporter?”
Another video acquired by Politico reveals Porter reprimanding a female staff member with a profane outburst during a Zoom discussion with the Biden administration on environmental matters.
Porter, 51, has gained notoriety for her quick-to-anger responses when things don’t go as expected. In 2022, allegations of bullying surfaced after a former aide claimed that staffers were put at risk for COVID-19 by working in-person during the pandemic.
Her ex-husband, Matthew Hoffman, claimed in a 2013 divorce filing that she verbally abused him regularly and once hurled hot mashed potatoes at him in a fit of rage.
According to court documents, Hoffman described her angry confrontations, stating, “When she gets angry, she scratches and scratches my arm and says to me, ‘Look what you made me do.'”
Porter is currently competing to take over for term-limited Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in the upcoming election on November 3.
