Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Wisely Rejected a $600 Gift From the Kardashians

• At a lavish event co-hosted by Kris Jenner, guests were gifted a bag of $600 worth of Kardashian products.

• One attendee of the event was new L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, which had constituents wondering if she'd accepted the gift.

• However, the Mayor kept her word, and declined the bag, which reportedly contained shapewear, liquor, hot sauce, and more.

When you're a political figure, accepting gifts can be a dicey proposition. In your precarious position, people are always looking for the slightest hint of scandal to drag you down. So if you accept even a simple little gift of, say, $3.2 million dollars in jewelry or decades worth of lavish trips from wealthy benefactors, people might be able to claim you could be accepting bribes that seek to influence your decisions. In politics, when someone gives you a gift, they're also giving your opponents ammunition.

Perhaps that's why Karen Bass, the new Mayor of Los Angeles, made the decision to relinquish the Kardashian-sponsored gift bag she received at a recent party packed with major power players.

Last month, Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner served as co-host of a celebrity-filled celebration at a Beverly Hills mansion "to celebrate investor Michael Kives’ firm and the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference, which brings together influential power players to discuss 'advancing a thriving world' as it pertains to finance, tech and philanthropy" according to the LA Times.

TMZ had the scoop on which celebs attended the event, from performers Katy Perry and Austin Butler to moguls like Oprah Winfrey and Jeff Bezos. But they also noted that political power players were spotted leaving the event, like Bass and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.

But since the events attendees were reported to have received a bag of swag from the Kardashians worth roughly $600, constituents and reporters had some questions.

Early in May, Bass' spokesperson Zach Seidl told the LA Times "that the swag would soon be returned." And last Friday,Reuters' Ben Welsh reported that Bass did indeed decline the gift bag, which the LA Times notes contained "Skims products, a messenger, some liquor, a bottle of hot sauce, makeup and a face light."

Whether Bass declined the gift bag as a matter of propriety or, as the LA Times reminds us, because "Kardashian endorsed Rick Caruso, Bass’ opponent in the mayoral race," is unclear, and the Los Angeles Mayor's spokesperson did not respond to the LAT's request for comment.

But we're just glad this got resolved. Imagine if Karen Bass had kept that $600 gift bag. What might that have done for the sterling, squeaky clean reputation of L.A. City Hall?

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