Veteran actor Henry Winkler used social media to support his Hollywood friends as wildfires raged through Southern California — and to suggest a theory that an arsonist was behind the carnage.
“THERE IS an ARSONIST here in LA. May you be beaten [until you’re] unrecognizable!!! The pain you have caused!!!” the normally mild-mannered star posted on X, where he has over a million followers.
Winkler offered no proof to support his claim, but it came as a surprise to firefighters and officials. While Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley told reporters Thursday that arson investigators were “actively investigating” the start of the deadly Pacific Palisades blaze, she referred to it as a “natural disaster.”
A fire department source told TMZ that it’s standard practice to have investigators consider arson as a possibility in a major fire, though there’s so far been no indication the blaze was set intentionally. The fire’s origins remain unknown.
Winkler, 79, is perhaps best known for playing Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli on the 1970s sitcom “Happy Days,” though he’s more widely known to a younger audience as acting teacher Gene Cousineau on HBO dramedy “Barry.”
When he wasn’t stirring up trouble on Thursday, Winkler reached out to colleagues affected by the wildfires to share condolences and advice.
“So sorry!” he wrote to funnyman Billy Crystal and his wife upon learning they’d lost their Pacific Palisades home. He also offered support to comedian Martin Short, who lost a house in the same area, and retweeted Marlee Matlin’s post thanking rescue workers for their efforts.
“Hurry,” Winkler wrote to “The Fall Guy” star Heather Thomas when she posted that she was packing up to leave her home.
