Author: Fox News

A Democratic Chicago alderman called out Mayor Lori Lightfoot after video surfaced of her dancing in the streets during a Lunar New Year celebration.

Ald. Raymond Lopez, who briefly mounted a mayoral run against Lightfoot — who faces the voters on Feb. 28 — said the mayor is essentially ignoring the crime crisis burgeoning under her watch and going so far as to publicly party as if there is nothing wrong in the city.

“[S]he would make Nero jealous of the way she’s able to ignore the reality on the streets while her citizenry are struggling, are in pain, and are under the gun of gang and gun violence on a daily basis,” Lopez told Fox News.

“The fact that she is so disconnected from reality that she thinks it’s apropos to dance and sing — even badly — at a joyous event while so many of my neighbors and fellow residents of Chicago are struggling, shows that she does not know or does not care about what people go through on a daily basis,” he added.

REPORTER SUING LIGHTFOOT PLEDGES TO GET ANSWERS ON CHICAGO ‘DESTRUCTION’

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot dances
(Lori Lightfoot/Facebook)

Nero, a 1st-century Roman emperor, infamously was said to have played his fiddle while the Great Fire engulfed the city around him in the year 64. Nero later reportedly blamed the blaze on the then-fledgling Christian religious sect, taking no responsibility himself.

On “America Reports,” Lopez said Chicago has seen thousands of crime victims in every neighborhood, from the infamous precincts on the south side, to the seemingly safer Lincoln Park area north of downtown. 

GIANNO CALDWELL UNLOADS ON LIGHTFOOT FOR PARTYING IN CHICAGO STREETS: ‘DANCING ON MY BROTHER’S GRAVE’

Mayor Lori Lightfoot
(Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Lopez, who endorsed candidate Willie Wilson after dropping out, added Lightfoot believes, amid the chaos, it is “her right to enjoy the occasion and celebrate her mediocrity as mayor.”

The alderman also blamed Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx for similarly embracing progressive criminal justice polices blamed for the rise in Chicago crime.

Foxx joins Lightfoot in “turn[ing] a blind eye routinely to the victims of violence in our city only to prop up and embolden criminals who think it is their birthright now to be on the offensive in every neighborhood,” the alderman alleged.

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Lopez concluded his party, the Democrats, seems to have an “infatuation with criminality” that is being borne out by the governance of politicians like Lightfoot.

Fox News political analyst Gianno Caldwell, whose brother was killed in Chicago in 2022, also condemned Lightfoot on Tuesday for her parade performance, telling “The Faulkner Focus” that the only solace he can take in the situation is the chance Lightfoot will be ousted in the city’s upcoming mayoral election.

“I take great offense to this,” he said. “My brother, my baby brother Christian, was murdered on June 24 last year in Chicago, and what I just witnessed in that video with that mayor right there was her dancing on my brother’s grave.” 

Amy Duggar King claimed this week that her cousins were not allowed to watch the Christian cartoon series “VeggieTales” as kids because their parents did not want them thinking “vegetables talk.”

“I remember the time I brought over ‘VeggieTales’ so that my cousins could at least see a cartoon,” King wrote on her social media this week. “A CHRISTIAN, wholesome cartoon. I was told: ‘’VeggieTales’ are not welcome at our house. I do not want my kids thinking vegetables talk.'” 

Her cousins were the focus of the TLC reality series “19 Kids and Counting” and were involved in the religiously conservative Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), which King called a “damaging cult.”

“Being bold this year and just not holding back!” King wrote on Instagram. 

JINGER DUGGAR SAYS SHE’S ‘FREE’ FROM ‘CULT-LIKE’ RELIGIOUS UPBRINGING: ‘IT JUST CONSUMED MY LIFE’  

“I was never apart of the IBLP officially but I was around family members who were very much involved and on the board of it,” King continued. “I am just not going to be afraid anymore to speak the truth and expose the damaging cult that IBLP is.”

Amy Duggar King claims her cousins couldn’t watch “VeggieTales” when they were growing up. 
(Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)

She added, “I kid you not I was told this years ago…”

The church reportedly urges followers to avoid dating, dancing, popular culture and women to be submissive to men. 

The Christian “VeggieTales” video series started in 1993. 
(Photo by Tony R. Phipps/WireImage for Gospel Music Association)

It was founded by Bill Gothard in 1961. Gothard stepped down in 2014 after being accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women. 

“A CHRISTIAN, wholesome cartoon. I was told: ‘’VeggieTales’ are not welcome at our house. I do not want my kids thinking vegetables talk,'” Amy Duggar King wrote on Instagram presumably about Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar. 
(Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)

King previously spoke out after her cousin Josh Duggar, 34, was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison on child pornography charges. 

Josh Duggar was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison last year on child pornography charges. 
(Getty Images)

On the day he was sentenced, King tweeted, “This is the day that smug gross smile slowly fades as he gets locked away.”

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In December, she tweeted, “Sad disgusting human beings who watch children being abused or who create such disgusting material should be locked up and never released back into society.” 

Former Department of Education official, Diane Ravitch was called out for being a hypocrite after she touted public schools despite sending her own children to private school. 

“The best choice is your local public school. It welcomes everyone. It unifies community. It is the glue of democracy,” Diane Ravitch, who served as assistant secretary of education during the George H.W. Bush administration, said.

UTAH GOVERNOR SIGNS MAJOR EDUCATION FUNDING BILL, BECOMING THIRD STATE TO ENSHRINE SCHOOL CHOICE INTO LAW

According to Ravitch’s website, she was a historian of education and a Research Professor of Education at New York University from 1995-2020. She now writes a blog, focused on education issues. 

New York, NY, USA – March 22, 2016: New York University buildings on Macdougal Street at 37 Washington Square West. A purple flag with the NYU logo hangs above an entrance to one of the college buildings. In the distance, the Empire State Building appears above buildings on West 8th Street.
(iStock)

“Why didn’t you send your sons to your local public school? You didn’t want the best for them? So you paid for private school in NYC? Make it make sense,” Christina Pushaw, an aide to Gov. Ron DeSantis, responded.

Pushaw also posted a screenshot of the about page on Ravitch’s blog, showing that she sent her two sons to private schools in New York City.

“I paid for it. I didn’t ask taxpayers to pay for my private choice,” Ravitch responded.

IOWA GOV KIM REYNOLDS SIGNS HISTORIC SCHOOL CHOICE BILL: ‘WE WILL FUND STUDENTS NOT SYSTEMS’

American Federation For Children Senior Fellow Corey DeAngelis also called out Ravitch in a viral tweet. 

DeAngelis posted the same screenshot of Ravitch’s tweet with the comment that “she sent her kids to private school.” DeAngelis later claimed that Ravitch blocked him on Twitter. 

American Federation For Children Senior Fellow Corey DeAngelis blasts Diane Ravitch for urging parents to choose public school after she sent her children to private school.

DeAngelis sent Fox News Digital a comment saying that “Diane Ravitch is one of the biggest school choice hypocrites out there.” 

“She sent her kids to private school yet fights against school choice for others. I’m glad her family had that opportunity. But she shouldn’t fight to trap other people’s kids in failing government schools,” DeAngelis said. “If Ravitch really thinks government schools are the ‘best choice,’ then why did she send her own kids to private school? What she apparently really means is that she thinks failing government schools are the best option for everyone else’s kids, but not her own.” 

He continued, “If the government schools are really the ‘best choice’ then they shouldn’t have anything to worry about by giving families the option to take their children’s education dollars elsewhere. The problem for them is they know Ravitch’s claim is often a lie. I mean, she sent her own kids to private school. She knows it’s a lie, too.”

KINDERGARTEN ‘SOCIAL SCIENCE’ CURRICULUM IN OREGON DISTRICT INSTRUCTS 4-YEAR-OLDS ON NEO-PRONOUNS

In recent months, a few states have passed major school choice legislation. Most recently Utah established “Utah Fits All Scholarship Program” on behalf of all Utah K-12 students to pay for “approved education goods and services” starting in the 2024-2025 school year.

Utah became the second state to sign a major school choice bill this year, trailing shortly behind Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds who signed a similar bill last week.

Gov. Spencer Cox speaks during a news conference on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021, in Salt Lake City. Monday, Jan. 10, 2022, Cox exempted the Utah Capitol and other state facilities from a mask mandate as conservative lawmakers prepared to begin meeting for the year, but the Salt Lake County mayor is pushing back. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
( (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File))

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an unprecedented school choice bill called the Students First Act on Tuesday, allowing any Iowa student to use public money to pay for private school tuition or other expenses.

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Arizona became the first state in the nation to pass education scholarship accounts last year, expanding the program to all 1.1 million K-12 students in the state.

The U.S. Coast Guard returned hundreds of Haitians attempting to migrate to the United States on a small vessel back to their home country this week.

The agency announced Tuesday Cutter Valiant and Cutter Legares responded to reports of a vessel packed with people sailing off Florida’s coast, approximately 23 miles northwest of Mole Saint Nicolas, Haiti, at about 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 26.

A USCG Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew saw the boat and notified Coast Guard District Seven watchstanders.

The USCG said 309 Haitians were taken back to Haiti following the interdiction. The group was a mixture of men, women and children.

US COAST GUARD SEIZES $33 MILLION OF HASHISH AND METH IN GULF OF OMAN

The U.S. Coast Guard intercepts a boat carrying hundreds of Haitian migrants off Florida’s coast.
(U.S. Coast Guard District 7)

In a statement, Petty Officer 1st Class Nicole Groll, of Coast Guard District Seven, strongly advised against attempting to sail to America.

“Attempting to migrate by sea in a less than seaworthy vessel is not only illegal but, also extremely dangerous,” Groll said. “The sea is unforgiving, and these voyages can cost you your life.”

US COAST GUARD DETAINS 396 HAITIAN MIGRANTS CRAMMED ON 50-FOOT BOAT NEAR BAHAMAS

The Coast Guard returned 309 Haitians to their home country Jan. 31 after intercepting their boat Jan. 26.
(U.S. Coast Guard District 7)

The Coast Guard said all migrants received food, water, shelter and basic medical attention once aboard the cutters. They were taken back to Haiti on Monday and Tuesday.

Since Oct. 1, 2022, the USCG said crews have stopped 2,513 Haitian migrants from making it to America. The number of Haitians attempting to make it to U.S. soil has significantly increased over the past three years.

U.S. Coast Guard returns 309 men, women and children to Haiti after attempting to migrate to America by sea.
(U.S. Coast Guard District 7)

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Previous years break down as follows: 7,175 Haitians in Fiscal Year 2022, 1,527 in FY 2021, 418 in FY 2020, 932 in FY 2019, 609 in FY 2018 and 419 in FY 2017.

DC Studios co-head and Marvel’s “Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 2” director James Gunn announced he won’t be joining the cancel culture chorus attacking one of his actors. Gunn isn’t looking to part ways with, nor will he punish, DC film star Zachary Levi for his recent tweet slamming the COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer Pfizer.

Despite a substantial wave of backlash against the “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” star for his statement agreeing that Pfizer is a “danger to the world,” Gunn insisted that he would not be looking to throw Levi under the bus or search for a replacement.

The director and studio head insisted that just because Levi said something he and others disagree with does not mean will change plans in terms of working with the actor. 

JAMES GUNN SPEAKS OUT ABOUT MARTIN SCORSESE’S PAST CRITICISM OF MARVEL MOVIES

James Gunn defended “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” actor Zach Levi after he put out a tweet critical of vaccine manufacturing company Pfizer.
(Daniel Knighton/Getty Images)

Levi, who plays the titular character in DC Studios’ “Shazam” superhero series, ignited a firestorm of internet criticism on Sunday when he tweeted out his negative impression of Pfizer.

In response to a Twitter user who asked, “Do you agree or not that Pfizer is a real danger to the world?” Levi tweeted, “Hardcore agree.” Social media users slammed the actor for being an anti-vaxxer. 

The furor over Levi’s tweet has made for a potentially more complicated press tour for the upcoming “Shazam” sequel, which premieres in March.

Gunn, who was recently named co-head of DC Studios, was asked about Levi’s tweet during a press event on Monday. He responded by acknowledging that he is willing to accept that actors and other filmmakers may have different opinions than him.

In Variety, he said, “Just real simply: Actors and filmmakers that I work with are going to say things that I agree with and things that I don’t agree with. And that’s going to happen. I don’t have a list of things that somebody should say because of what I think.”

Gunn also stressed that he’s not willing to alter or reconsider his own filmmaking plans just because someone he works with has different opinions. He added, “And you know, I can’t be changing my plans all the time because an actor says something that I don’t agree with.”

Though Gunn suggested he’d be more willing to take action if someone he worked with was “doing something morally reprehensible.”

HENRY CAVILL TO BE REPLACED BY LIAM HEMSWORTH IN ‘THE WITCHER’ AFTER ‘SUPERMAN’ NEWS

James Gunn was fired by Disney after tweets he wrote about rape, pedophilia, 9/11 and child abuse resurfaced. The director apologized for his tweets and was later reinstated.
(Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage)

Gunn’s lenience towards Levi may be partially motivated by his own experiences when it comes to confrontation with “cancel culture.” In 2018, he was fired from Disney/Marvel for years-old tweets joking about rape and child molestation that resurfaced and went viral. 

At the time Gunn claimed he was simply being “provocative,” though he expressed regret for making the jokes. Disney eventually reinstated Gunn as director of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise that same year. 

During a Fox News interview on his “The Suicide Squad” press tour in 2021, Gunn expressed some sympathy for people who have been canceled for outrageous or unpopular statements. He said, “I mean, listen, I’m always attracted to outsiders.”

Gunn has also expressed support for other Hollywood people, who have generated backlash for their behavior. Recently Gunn pledged support on behalf of DC Studios for “The Flash” actor Ezra Miller’s mental health recovery. Both he and fellow DC Studios co-head Peter Safran claimed they were “supportive” of Miller’s announcement that he would be seeking mental health treatment last year.

The actor claimed he would be going into recovery after he was recently charged with felony burglary last May. The DC bosses stated they would also be willing to talk to the actor about future plans with D.C. studios once he was ready to resume. 

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Gunn also defended “Guardians of the Galaxy” star Chris Pratt after fans called for him to be replaced in the series last year. All of this was connected to Pratt’s religious faith. 

The director slammed the calls to cancel Pratt, tweeting, “For what? Because of your made-up, utterly-false beliefs about him? For something that someone else told you about him that’s not true? Chris Pratt would never be replaced as Star-Lord but, if he ever was, we would all be going with him.”

Cast member Zachary Levi attends the Warner Bros. “Shazam!” press line at the Comic-Con International: San Diego on July 23, 2022.
(Reuters/Aude Guerrucci)

An NBC News insider feels Miguel Almaguer “f—-d up” and could have been terminated for carelessly relying on a single source for his Paul Pelosi report that was retracted last year.

In a viral “Today” segment days after the brutal attack, Almaguer seemed to imply Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, might not have been in immediate danger when police arrived at his San Francisco home the night he was assaulted by suspect David DePape. Police bodycam video has since put a spotlight on what appeared to be accurate and inaccurate, but a well-placed insider doesn’t think Almaguer’s infamous report was fit to air either way. 

The insider, a former NBC News executive with knowledge of the way the Almaguer situation played out internally, said the veteran reporter relied on a lone source for the story that should have required confirmation. 

“It was more a tip than a source,” the former NBC News exec told Fox News Digital of the information Almaguer used in the report that was retracted hours after it aired last Nov. 4.

BODYCAM VIDEO OF PAUL PELOSI ATTACK SHEDS LIGHT ON NBC NEWS’ MYSTERIOUSLY RETRACTED REPORT

“The first thing that was wrong with it, there is a real question as to how much he knew. Then, there is a question as to what the second source was,” the former exec said. “What was the confirmation?” 

The insider said those two factors are “Miguel’s part of the problem,” but NBC News standards and practices also played a role in what has emerged as a public relations nightmare with media watchdogs calling for transparency from the Comcast-owned network.   

Ultimately, the former NBC News executive believes the company had “grounds to fire” Almaguer, a step they said was considered by current executives.  

“Miguel f—-d up,” they added. “It’s not clear that he had anything approaching two sources, and it’s not clear that the first source was more than a tip.”  

CALLS FOR TRANSPARENCY FROM NBC NEWS GROW LOUDER IN WAKE OF PAUL PELOSI ATTACK BODYCAM VIDEO 

David DePape, left, and Paul Pelosi are seen in an image from bodycam footage. 
(San Francisco County Superior Court)

Longtime NBC News standards and practices head Marian Porges stepped down in 2021 after a 25-year run at the company. Chris Scholl, who has also been at the company for over two decades, was promoted to vice president of news standards. 

“The standards guy falls down on the job and does not question Miguel properly on ‘who is the source,’ ‘what’s the second source.’ He totally fails to do his job,” the source said.  

Scholl did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The source believes NBC News standards department botching the story helped save Almaguer’s job.  

“Standards really falls down on the job,” they said. “The editorial process fell down, so you can’t just blame Miguel.” 

NBC News did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Almaguer has not responded to multiple requests since his story was retracted in November. 

NBC News has not publicly explained what was wrong with the retracted report aside from a brief line that it didn’t meet standards. Media watchdogs have called for greater transparency from NBC, and the bizarre handling of the situation has led to all sorts of speculation.

Bodycam video of the October attack on Paul Pelosi shed light on what appeared to be accurate and inaccurate with Miguel Almaguer’s NBC News report that was retracted last year.
(Screenshot/NBC News)

PAUL PELOSI VIDEO SHOWS HAMMER ATTACK AFTER POLICE ARRIVE

Friday’s release of bodycam footage from the incident was supposed to clear things up, and some media watchdogs have since claimed the footage vindicates Almaguer, while others aren’t so sure. The insider believes that the report was botched, as it gave an impression that Pelosi wasn’t in immediate danger when police arrived. At one point, Almaguer reported Paul Pelosi walked several feet back toward the inside of his house after answering the door, but bodycam footage showed DePape holding his arm already when the door opened.

“The body camera footage clearly shows that one of the inferences that Miguel reported was inaccurate,” the insider said. 

DePape has pleaded not guilty to all state charges in the case, including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and elder abuse. He also has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of assaulting an immediate family member of a federal official and attempted kidnapping of a federal officer for the alleged home invasion. He unexpectedly called in to KTVU San Francisco following the release of bodycam and surveillance footage and took credit for attacking Pelosi and said, “I’m so sorry I didn’t get more of them.”

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A Texas man is accused of killing his girlfriend, a popular DJ in Colombia, and stuffing her body inside a suitcase before trying to flee the country.

The body of Valentina Trespalacios, 23, was found in a blue suitcase wrapped with tape and thrown into a dumpster last week near an airport in Colombia’s capital city of Bogota, the New York Post reported.

It was determined Trespalacios, who was a popular DJ with 16,000 followers on Instagram, was killed by “mechanical asphyxia” or “strangulation.”

John Nelson Poulos, the 35-year-old boyfriend of Trespalacios who had met her on a dating app last year, left Colombia for Panama days before her body turned up. He was arrested Jan. 24 as he was about to board a flight to Montenegro, a country that does not have an extradition agreement with Colombia or the United States.

CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST US-TRAINED AFGHAN SOLDIER DETAINED WHILE CROSSING BORDER AFTER ESCAPING TALIBAN

Valentina Trespalacios and John Nelson Poulos
(Jam Press)

Poulos, who is said to be married with three kids, reportedly told police he was fleeing the country to escape from a drug cartel and says the cartel is responsible or the death of Trespalacios.

In his mugshot, a visible scratch can be seen on Polulos’ face, and El Pais reported that Trespalacios’ family said he was “jealous and controlling” and hired a private investigator to track her movements last year. 

AMERICANS TRAVELING BETWEEN MEXICO, US SEE VACATIONS TURN INTO NIGHTMARES AT THE BORDER

Valentina Trespalacios was a DJ with over 16,000 followers on Instagram
(Jam Press)

Poulos has been charged with aggravated femicide.

“He was the one who hurt my daughter, and he doesn’t deserve to be around like if nothing happened. I want justice done,” Laura Hidalgo, Trespalacios’ mother, said, according to Daily Mail.

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Valentina Trespalacios was killed shortly after finishing a DJ set last week
(Jam Press)

“It is not fair that a foreigner comes to excite a Colombian girl and ends up like this. I hope this case does not go unpunished. He was the last person to see her alive, and he didn’t have to hurt her.”

Tickets for an anti-capitalism event being headlined by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in March will cost those who want a front row seat nearly $100.

The event, titled “It’s Okay to Be Angry About Capitalism,” will be held at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., on March 1 to promote Sanders’ new book of the same title. Event tickets, which will be available for purchase to the public on Feb. 3 at 10a.m. ET through the ticketing giant Ticketmaster, range from $35 to $95.

Presented by Politics & Prose and I.M.P., the event is titled after Sanders’ new book, which the organizers claim is a “progressive takedown of the uber-capitalist status quo that has enriched millionaires and billionaires at the expense of the working class, and a blueprint for what transformational change would actually look like.”

IS BERNIE SANDERS’ ‘DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM’ REALLY JUST SOCIALISM?

Tickets for an anti-capitalism event being headlined by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in March will cost those who want a front row seat nearly $100.
(Alex Wong, Joe Raedle via Getty Images)

In its announcement for the event, which is sure to build on Sanders’ Democratic socialist message, Politics & Prose noted that Sanders’ appearance at the venue is a “ticketed event through The Anthem.”

A note included on the Ticketmaster listing for the event stated that tickets “priced at $95, $75, and $55 include a copy” of Sanders’ book.

TICKETMASTER’S DAY IN CONGRESS MET WITH BIPARTISAN ‘BAD BLOOD’ AND MORE TAYLOR SWIFT PUNS FROM SENATORS

While details of the event have yet to be announced, several of Sanders’ Congressional colleagues were quick to call out the irony in the events title and how tickets were being sold to those hoping to attend.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 14, 2021.
(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

“Anyone else see the ‘irony’ in Bernie Sanders selling tickets for his ‘It’s Okay to Be Angry About Capitalism’ book tour on Ticketmaster,” Michigan GOP Rep. Bill Huizenga asked in a tweet.

Similarly, Texas GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw wrote in a tweet: “Bernie Sanders is selling tickets to his book tour, ‘It’s Okay to Be Angry About Capitalism.’ On Ticketmaster.”

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Live Nation Entertainment, Ticketmaster’s parent company, announced record earnings in November 2022. Up until that point in 2022, the entertainment company reported $12.3 billion in revenue, outpacing its previous most profitable year, 2019, by 43%.

The company has come under fire for allegedly holding a monopoly on event ticketing in the U.S., sparking a congressional hearing last week

Butch Patrick is mourning the loss of his beloved pal.

Lisa Loring, recognized by fans as the original Wednesday Addams from the classic TV adaptation of “The Addams Family,” passed away on Saturday at age 64. The actress died of complications from a stroke caused by high blood pressure, her daughter Vanessa Foumberg told The Hollywood Reporter.

Lisa Loring, who played Wednesday Addams in the classic TV show “The Addams Family,” passed away on Saturday. She was 64.
(Getty Images)

“My initial reaction was one of sadness,” Patrick, who famously played Eddie Munster in “The Munsters,” told Fox News Digital. “And at the same time, it didn’t come unexpectedly. She had been in failing health for a while. I knew she was weak. But at the same time, I’m really happy that she’s out of pain. I’m a big believer in spirituality and the afterlife, so I’m happy she’s in a better place. But I miss her. We had a long, long friendship. We did lots of great things and had wonderful adventures together.”

The former child stars first met at Paul Petersen’s home sometime in 1985. Peterson, also a former child star, later formed A Minor Consideration, a child-actor support group in Hollywood.

‘MUNSTERS’ STAR BUTCH PATRICK RECALLS HIT ’60S SERIES: ‘WE WERE ABLE TO GET AWAY WITH A LOT MORE’

Lisa Loring played Wednesday Addams in the television series “The Addams Family.” Her pal Butch Patrick played Eddie Munster in “The Munsters.”
(Lawrence Lucier/Getty Images)

“I immediately said, ‘Oh my God, what a beautiful woman,’” Patrick chuckled. “We did some shows together because any promoter in their right mind would love to have Wednesday Addams and Eddie Munster in the same room to promote an appearance. And that’s where it started. The more we worked together, the closer we got and the deeper the friendship bond became.”

According to the 69-year-old, his favorite memory of Loring is when their characters said “I do” to the delight of fans in 1997.

“There was a gentleman in Pittsburgh, Tony Greco, the world’s biggest ‘Munsters’ collector,” Patrick recalled. “He was a friend to everybody. A buddy of his was going to open a nightclub called Heaven… I go, ‘How would you like to have Eddie Munster and Wednesday Addams – a match made in Heaven?’ And he goes, ‘That sounds like a great event!’”

“So I contacted Lisa and she loved the idea,” he shared. “She came and looked beautiful. We had rings and a DJ dressed as a pope who performed the ceremony. We had 5,000 people attend this massive mock wedding of Eddie Munster and Wednesday Addams. It was such a good time.”

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Lisa Loring attends the Chiller Theatre Expo Halloween on Oct. 29, 2022, in Parsippany, New Jersey. She remained devoted to her fans over the years.
( Photo by Bobby Bank/Getty Images)

Patrick said he last saw Loring in November. The pair made an appearance at an autograph signing in Anaheim, California.

“Lisa was sitting next to me, so we had a couple of days to just chat,” he recalled. “That’s when I was very concerned about her. She was in a wheelchair and her strength wasn’t what it was. I could see it. But I was hoping she was going to recover… She was only 64 years old. She left us way too young. Too soon.”

“I think when her husband Graham passed away last year, that took a lot of joy from her life,” said Patrick. “They were divorced, but she still cared for him very much.”

Today, Patrick hopes fans will remember Loring for being “a very wonderful soul who loved her daughters.”

‘MUNSTERS’ CHILD STAR BUTCH PATRICK EXPLAINS WHY HIT ‘60S SERIES CAME TO AN END

Lisa Loring and Butch Patrick starred in their spooky sitcoms during the ’60s.
(Getty Images)

“She was always appreciative of her success and her life,” said Patrick while fighting back tears. “She was very proud of what she had done… Her talent, even at a young age, came so naturally to her. She had such a strong presence as Wednesday Addams, which is quite an achievement to pull off as a little girl. I’m just happy to have known her. We were both Hollywood kids and had parallel lifestyles. But we also had a really good time on this ride.”

“It can be tough sometimes in Hollywood,” he reflected. “But she survived. And I’m happy she found peace.”

Loring first took on the role of pigtailed Wednesday in 1964. She began working on the live-action TV adaptation of Charles Addams’ New Yorker cartoons when she was just 5. The show aired at the same time as the fellow spooky sitcom “The Munsters.”

While Loring only played the character for two years, her performance set the template for live-action portrayals. She was recently praised for inspiring Jenna Ortega’s interpretation of the role for the Netflix series “Wednesday.”

‘ADDAMS FAMILY’ THEN AND NOW: A LOOK BACK AT THE ’90S STARS AS ‘WEDNESDAY’ TV SERIES IMAGES ARE RELEASED

John Astin, who played patriarch Gomez Addams, is the last surviving member of the original cast.
(ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

John Astin, who played Gomez Addams, is the last surviving member of the original cast.

Following her success on TV, Loring kept busy appearing in a series of slashers during the ‘80s. Her last credited role was that of Miss Rhonda in 2015’s “Doctor Spine.”

Loring is survived by two daughters and two grandchildren.