San Francisco Hair Salon In Nancy Pelosi Flap Closes Permanently

Bea Karnes
Updated ·2 min read

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — What started out as a simple wash-and-blowout at a San Francisco hair salon has ended with the owner closing her business. The customer was U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, and the salon service caused a social media firestorm that's still raging.

According to Pelosi, she asked her longtime San Francisco stylist for a shampoo and blowout. She said she was the only customer in the salon and that she followed all of the rules presented to her.

The problem: At the time of the service, indoor salon treatments were not permitted in San Francisco. The salon owner, Erica Kious, who is not Pelosi's stylist, is angry that her business has been closed by health orders since March. In retaliation, she released surveillance video from the salon showing Pelosi inside. She is shown wearing her mask around her neck as she walks through the salon followed by her stylist, who was properly wearing a mask.

Pelosi called the release of the video a setup. Her stylist backed her story.

The video was widely shared on social media. Pelosi haters called the House speaker a hypocrite, while supporters expressed sympathy for trying to navigate health orders that vary by city, county and state. Pelosi spends much of the year in the Washington, D.C., area.

The controversy over the video has now extended beyond Pelosi to Kious, who says that she has received threats. Fed up, the small-business owner says that her salon, eSalon, will not reopen when the health department finally gives the go-ahead.

Read more on ABC7.

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This article originally appeared on the San Francisco Patch