❓WHAT HAPPENED: Aspiring Democratic California governor Katie Porter has faced backlash after multiple videos surfaced of her berating staff and clashing with a journalist.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Katie Porter, her staff, CBS News reporter Julie Watts, and political figures like Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Videos from 2021 and recent interviews in California have gone viral in October 2025.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Get out of my f**king shot!” Porter was heard yelling at a staffer in one of the resurfaced videos.
🎯IMPACT: The incidents have led to criticism from both sides of the political aisle and raised questions about Porter’s leadership style and temperament.
Former Representative Katie Porter (D-CA), currently the Democratic Party frontrunner for California governor, is under fire after multiple videos of her berating staff and clashing with a journalist have gone viral. In one resurfaced clip from 2021, Porter was seen angrily demanding her staff to adjust the lighting during a Zoom meeting, saying, “I need the lights off… the bright lights,” before cutting her camera and sound in frustration.
Katie got big mad at her staff during a 2021 Zoom because they were struggling with the lighting.
Instead of handling the moment gracefully, she suddenly cut audio and video after shooting her team a withering glare. https://t.co/YF3cveOBsz pic.twitter.com/1DktYWYaSt
— Torunn Sinclair (@TorunnSinclair) October 8, 2025
Another video from the same year shows Porter yelling at a staffer to “get out of my f**king shot!” during a conversation with then-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. The staffer had entered the frame to correct a statement Porter made about electric vehicles. Porter’s irritated response continued, “You also were in my shot before that. Stay out of my shot.”
Is there anyone as unlikeable as Katie Porter?!
I am hereby nominating Katie Porter for “Karen of the Year” for 2025.
She is competing with Jessica Tarlov and the Phillies Baseball Karen pic.twitter.com/3oM4UNW0TO
— Shawn Farash (@Shawn_Farash) October 9, 2025
The National Pulse reported on Wednesday that a leaked CBS interview from last month shows Porter rudely berating reporter Julie Watts, who pressed her on the need to win over Trump voters in California’s gubernatorial race. Porter became visibly angry when Watts did not immediately accept that she did not need Trump voters’ support, questioning her line of inquiry and accusing the journalist of being “unnecessarily argumentative.”
The videos and leaked interview have sparked bipartisan criticism. Fellow California Democrat Xavier Becerra, and potential gubernatorial candidate, said of Porter’s dismissal of Trump voters, “I’m not interested in excluding any vote. Every Californian deserves affordable health care, safe streets, a roof over their head, and a living wage.” Republican Steve Hilton, also running for governor, observed, “Fifteen years of one-party rule. This is what you get. It’s time for change in California.”
In response to the backlash, Porter told the media, “It’s no secret I hold myself and my staff to a higher standard and that was especially true as a member of Congress. I have sought to be more intentional in showing gratitude to my staff for their important work.”
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