KB Home CEO Jeffrey Mezger hurls slurs at Kathy Griffin
KB Home Chief Executive Jeffrey Mezger went on a profanity-laden rant against his neighbor Kathy Griffin last weekend, hurling slurs at the comedian in reaction to a noise complaint.
Mezger let loose after Griffin’s boyfriend, Randy Bick, called the Los Angeles Police Department to complain about noise coming from Mezger’s backyard on Saturday night, according to HuffPost, which first reported the incident. The news organization published an audio recording it said was from security cameras.
The rant prompted censure from people such as personal finance guru Suze Orman. Los Angeles-based KB Home — one of the nation’s biggest homebuilders — said the executive regrets using those words and sent an apology to Griffin.
In the recording, Mezger is first heard shouting at Bick for calling the police about a “party” involving his young grandchildren. He then uses a slur to describe Griffin and aims other profanities toward both Griffin and Bick. Griffin is then heard on the recording, asking, “What’s going on?” Mezger later directs his comments toward Griffin, using another slur, and then says, “I’ve done enough trying to be a nice partner.”
Mezger and Griffin have neighboring homes off a Bel-Air cul-de-sac, public records show.
“Disgraceful talk from the CEO of KB HOMES. You really want to buy a home from this man?” Orman, the popular personal finance advisor, said on Twitter. Mezger has served as the homebuilder’s CEO and president since 2006. He was named chairman in 2016.
A KB Home spokeswoman confirmed that police were called to Mezger’s home Saturday, saying Griffin and Bick had complained about the noise Mezger’s young grandchildren were making while playing in the pool under the supervision of their mother and grandmother.
“The police took no action relating to the noise or anything else,” the spokeswoman said in a statement. She said the arrival of the police upset the children and other family members.
Mezger has apologized to Griffin in writing for “using that language,” she said. She said that the recording appears to have been edited, but that Mezger “regrets losing his temper and the language he used.”
“It does not reflect who he is or what he believes,” she said.
The spokeswoman said Mezger’s outburst was the result of a “culmination of a series of unneighborly actions” by Griffin and Bick, saying the couple have called police or homeowners association security to Mezger’s residents between seven and 10 times.
Bick declined to comment for this article. Griffin could not be reached for comment.
Twitter: @smasunaga
UPDATES:
1 p.m.: This article was updated with Randy Bick declining to comment.
This article was originally published at 11:35 a.m.
