Patrick Soon-Shiong’s Daughter Again Claims Harris Support Was Rejected on Gaza, LA Times Owner Suggests She’s Lying

The daughter of Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong made clear what she had suggested just two days earlier, claiming Saturday that the newspaper’s planned endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris was scrapped due to Harris’ stance on the ongoing war in Gaza. But soon after, her father basically said she was lying.

“Our family has made a joint decision not to support a presidential candidate. This was the first and only time I was involved in this process,” Soon-Shiong’s daughter, Nika Soon-Shiong, who is not a formal employee of the newspaper, said in a statement. The New York Times.“As a citizen of a country that openly finances genocide and as a family that experienced apartheid in South Africa, this support was an opportunity to reject justifications for the widespread targeting of journalists and the ongoing war on children.”

On Saturday, spokesman Soon-Shiong apparently said Nika “isn’t involved.” “Her words do not represent the LA Times family,” adding that the newspaper’s choice is not related to Gaza and that Niki’s words are “her opinion.”

On Thursday, Nika Soon-Shiong strongly suggested in a convoluted social media thread that the decision to end Harris’ endorsement was related to the Gaza Strip. These and her latest inflammatory remarks only add fuel to the fire that is engulfing the LA Times as readers and staff revolt against unprecedented encroachments on editorial independence.

This decision – kill not only support for Harris, but also a planned series related to it who made the case against Donald Trump – sparked an existential crisis for the 142-year-old newspaper. In addition to the sharp increase in subscription cancellations and open outrage from subscribers, several high-profile employees resigned in protest, followed by an open letter signed by 200 editorial staff.

IN this letterpublished Friday afternoon, LA Times staffers called on Soon-Shiong and senior editor Terry Tang to stop ignoring the story, stop blaming the newsroom for the scandal and “restore trust” in readers.

“The Times has undermined (readers’) trust with its handling of the lack of support and the response that followed,” the letter, signed by 200 LA Times employees, said in part.

Shortly after the letter was published, the Los Angeles Times finally reported on the matter in an interview with Soon-Shiong, in which he stood by his decision despite the confusion it caused.