| METRO | TABLOID TALES F abián Basabe unabashedly funded his own way into a Florida House of Representatives race. The former reality TV star and onetime tabloid fixture says he was putting his money where his mouth is when he dropped $250,000 into his campaign. “This is real money, and it’s my money. You know, this is something [that] is an in- vestment for me,” Basabe tells New Times. “Aren’t you more comfortable knowing that I am in a financial position to not be cor- rupted? I’m not starting in politics and end- ing up with a bigger house.” The socialite-turned-politician is running as a moderate Republican against Democrat Jordan Leonard, a former Bay Harbor Islands mayor and previous president of the Miami- Dade County League of Cities. The two are vying for a statehouse seat representing District 106, which covers barrier island communities from Miami Beach north to Sunny Isles. The newly redrawn district encompasses heavily Democratic-leaning communities but has a large contingent of independent voters. Basabe has pledged to support gay rights, fight for increased funding for law enforcement, improve infrastructure, and beautify Miami Beach. Local political endorsements have come in for him from across the political spectrum, including one from former Miami Beach Mayor Matti Bower, a Democrat. “You literally have Democrats, full-on Democrats, that have crossed party lines in support of my campaign. They’re gonna take some hits politically and they know it. And they’re still willing to take a chance. That means so much to me and I’m not going to betray that opportunity,” Basabe says. As the November 8 election nears, how- ever, Basabe faces a steep uphill climb. Even if the political neophyte can flip the left-leaning district — where Democrats cast nearly twice as many primary votes for the statehouse race as Republicans — scrutiny of his past has been mounting. In recent weeks, Basabe has faced re- newed criticism over instances of alleged vol- atile behavior in the not-too-distant past, including a 2019 incident in which a publicist accused him of calling her the N-word and a “whore” at Art Basel — and a more recent fra- cas that saw a dispute with a neighbor lead to Basabe being taken into custody by U.S. Mar- shals in South Carolina. Basabe claims he’s a victim of his own past 44 celebrity, and that the unflattering reports are exaggerated. When speaking to New Times, he talks of unity and how beautiful it is to live in Miami Beach, and how we should stop be- ing jerks to each other. “People have become so cold and bitter and Erstwhile “it” boy Fabián Basabe’s exploits resurface in run for state office. BY NAOMI FEINSTEIN At the height of the pandemic, the neigh- bor confronted Basabe and accused him of not following COVID-related restrictions by hosting a gathering at their condo’s pool area. As the neighbor recorded the situation on her smartphone, Basabe snatched the de- vice and threw it into the bay, according to a police report. He offered to reimburse her, but she moved forward with pressing charges, police said. Basabe says his gathering was authorized “WHEN YOU GO OUT AND ENJOY LIFE, YOU TEND TO RUN INTO SITUATIONS WHERE YOU LEND YOURSELF TO BEING A TARGET BECAUSE OF WHO YOU ARE.” by the condo management and that the neighbor was harassing him and recorded videos of his fam- ily. “I did not want a video of my 11-year-old son in a bathing suit in any stranger’s hands,” he says, adding, “I had no reason to believe a warrant for my arrest was is- sued.” The charge was reduced to a misdemeanor, and Basabe paid a fine. He calls the situation a victory for his family. “No one ran. They waited till I was on vacation and pressed charges while I was out of town. The judge even allowed me to get back on my boat im- mediately,” he wrote in a social media ex- change with filmmaker Alfred Spellman, who has sharply criticized Basabe’s candidacy last week. And while the nightlife escapades that Photo by Scott Teitler Fabian Basabe is throwing his hat into the ring for the 106th district race for the Florida House of Representatives. unforgiving. And that is so ungrateful consid- ering we live in a paradise,” Basabe says. He knows he’s had privileges, he says, and he knows he doesn’t have to deal with what he calls “the mundane chores of every- day life.” “I have a greater responsibility. This is an opportunity... to show my appreciation for the life that I have,” he says. Back in the Public Eye Basabe spent his youth in Miami Beach, where his parents owned the Boulevard and Breakwater hotels. He had a stint studying in- ternational relations at Pepperdine Univer- sity in Malibu, California, before moving to New York City and becoming a “fixture on the social and nightlife scenes,” as he de- scribes it. He made a name for himself on E! Enter- tainment’s Young, Rich and Famous in 2003 and later appeared on the reality TV show Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive, which featured children born into wealthy families working on a ranch. Basabe has tried hard to distance himself from his image as a temperamental child of wealth, which dominated past tabloid cover- age of him. But his run for public office has stirred up debate over controversial incidents in which he’s been involved over the past sev- eral years. Among the stories that have come into fo- cus in recent weeks: Basabe’s run-in with U.S. Marshals in August 2020, when armed agents surrounded him on his boat in a ma- rina near Charleston, South Carolina. The agents were acting on an outstanding war- rant after Basabe allegedly failed to address a criminal charge arising from a Miami Beach incident in which he grabbed a neigh- bor’s phone. attracted notoriety in the New York City entertainment news sphere have faded into the past, Basabe has had his moments in Miami. In 2016, Basabe, then in his late 30s, was hit with a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge in Miami Beach after he climbed on the roof of a car and yelled at pedestrians as the vehicle tooled down Washington Avenue. He told police he was “just being stupid” and wanted to “make a fabulous entrance to Club Twist,” according to the police report. Basabe says he’s still active in the social scene and that being out and about and party- ing in the Magic City has its drawbacks. “It’s not like all of a sudden I’m 40 and I don’t go outside anymore. I have an exciting life. And when you go out and enjoy life and celebrate life and people as much as I do, you tend to run into situations where you lend yourself to being a target because of who you are,” Basabe says. Basabe is also facing renewed scrutiny over claims that he used a racial slur in anger at an Art Basel event in 2019. A publicist told Page Six that after she tried to deny him entry MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 NOVEMBER 3-9, 2022 NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS |
