"Happy Days" star Scott Baio said he will leave California due to the state's homeless crisis.
"After 45 years, I'm making my way to finally 'exit stage right' from California," the sitcom actor wrote in a tweet that included statistics about homelessness in the state.
"The most recent survey conducted by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority found approximately 69,000 people experiencing homelessness in LA County and 41,000 in the city in 2022," Baio continued, adding in a separate tweet that the state's soft-on-crime initiatives for the homelessness issues were bringing down property values.
"Also no consequences for crime that is rampant, making things higher in price and it's just not a safe place anymore," wrote Baio.
Last month, Baio listed his Woodland Hills home, which he purchased for $1.85 million in 2010, for $3.85 million, according to Realtor.com. The 6,300-square-foot property includes five bedrooms, 4½ bathrooms, a pool, spa, and a home theater.
Baio has joined a growing list of celebrities to leave California in recent years. Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, Chris Hemsworth, Rob Schneider, Busy Phillips, and Joe Rogan have fled, according to KTLA, which noted that Rogan also cited homelessness.
"I want to go somewhere in the center of the country ... somewhere you have a little more freedom. I think where we live right here in Los Angeles is a little overcrowded. ... I think it's exposing the fact that it's a real issue when you look at the number of people that are catching COVID because of the overpopulation issue," Rogan previously said.
"When you look at the traffic, the economic disparity, the homelessness problem ... I think there are too many people," he added.
According to the New York Post, about 500,000 people left California between April 2020 and July 2022. The homeless population in California jumped by 6% since 2020, while the rest of the U.S. saw an increase of 0.4%. Further, at least 30% of homeless people in the U.S. were in California in 2022.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.