‘LA is a crying, weeping shadow of what it once was,’ say despairing residents, as The Sun witnesses desperate scenes of crime and addiction
SLUMPED over and barely able to stand, drug-addled ‘zombies’ shoot up and smoke crack in the open, while one homeless man passes out with a bottle of alcohol for a pillow.
It’s just another day in one of LA’s most notorious ‘Walking Dead’ zones, while world-famous celebrities and billionaires continue to flee the so-called ‘City of Dreams’ in droves.
Tinseltown is falling apart. Shops are boarded up, and streets that once thronged with tourists and hopeful dreamers are now taken over by addicts and mentally ill vagrants, years after the pandemic.
While many long-time Hollywood residents have upped sticks, those who remain are being forced to take desperate measures, with The Sun witnessing some even arming themselves with crowbars and bottles for protection.
Our reporter spoke to locals and experts about life in the lost city, which has been described as a “weeping shadow” of its former self and compared to a “third world country”.
During our visit to MacArthur Park in East Los Angeles, drug users were seen huddling under blankets and shooting up in the open, while encampments and trailers lined the surrounding streets.
The park has been blighted by frequent overdoses, crime and open fentanyl use, turning what was once a family-friendly space into a dangerous no-go zone where free meth pipes and needles are handed out.
Dennis Oleesky, interim CEO of the Los Angeles Mission, said that while drug overdose deaths and homelessness have begun to ease from their pandemic-era peaks, both remain at historically high levels.
His office borders Skid Row, overlooking streets where drug-addicted rough sleepers live in makeshift shelters and push shopping trolleys.
He said: “We need more resources in addiction services and mental health. These drugs are so addictive.
“We lost employees and residents to overdoses. In February, seven people died on our street in one week from fentanyl.
“So even if the numbers improve, what people are dealing with on the streets is much worse than it was 10 or 15 years ago.”
Fentanyl is still fuelling overdose fatalities, and Los Angeles still has the largest homeless population in America, despite modest recent declines.
Many locals, particularly women, say they no longer feel safe, not only on the streets, but even on hiking trails.
Tiffany Miller, who has lived in LA for seven years while pursuing acting and music, said safety fears have become constant.
“It’s difficult to go anywhere without looking over your shoulder,” she said.
“I’ve been followed in Beverly Hills. I’ve had people approach me aggressively at petrol stations. I’ve even had people come out of bushes with weapons while hiking Runyon Canyon.
“I’ve thought about leaving, but you should not have to abandon your dreams because authorities are not doing their job.”
She added: “LA is a crying, weeping shadow of what it once was.”
Residents say the crisis has now moved into their homes.
In one Los Feliz apartment block, a homeless man broke in over Christmas and was found sleeping by a fire escape after defecating on the carpet. Another man had previously climbed down the chimney.
A resident said: “You have to be vigilant all the time. Just after the pandemic it was every so often, now it’s every day.
“This is the reality of living in Los Angeles now.
“There were a lot of problems in the local Starbucks with drugged-up people often throwing fits and stealing in there; nobody felt safe. It recently closed and is now boarded up.”
Los Angeles was ranked the number one city for move-outs in 2025 for the fourth year running, according to a report from PODS, the portable storage and moving company.
State figures show Los Angeles County lost nearly 80,000 residents in 2023, followed by around 46,000 in 2024, with tens of thousands more leaving again in 2025.
Meanwhile, film and television productions are increasingly heading to cheaper US states and overseas locations offering generous tax incentives, draining jobs and battering local economies.
Once-beloved restaurants and small businesses, many of which had operated for decades, have been forced to shut their doors.
Celeb exodus
Beyonce and Jay-Z are the latest in a series of US celebrities to be drawn to the UK in search of a better quality of life.
They are reportedly set to build a huge rural estate in the Cotswolds – a countryside haven where Ellen DeGeneres, the Beckhams and Simon Cowell all own grand properties.
Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes relocated to London with their children, while Sophie Turner, originally from England, returned after her divorce from Joe Jonas.
British-American actress Minnie Driver returned to London in 2024 after nearly three decades in Los Angeles, enrolling her young son in school.
Other stars have headed elsewhere in the US.
Podcast host Joe Rogan relocated to Texas, publicly citing overcrowding, traffic and homelessness.
Happy Days star Scott Baio also announced plans to leave California after 45 years, specifically citing crime and homelessness as factors in his decision to sell his home.
Some moves are driven by tax planning, family needs and changing work patterns rather than a wholesale rejection of the city.
But the celebrity exodus has fuelled fears that Los Angeles is losing its way.
Alex Hall, a real estate agent and the star of Netflix show Selling The OC, has described LA as being like a “third world country” since the pandemic.
She said she’s seen wealthy buyers back out of purchasing a home after falling in love with it because they’ve spent a weekend in the neighbourhood and changed their minds.
Alex is not shocked that celebrities are fleeing LA and even the States, preferring the likes of the English countryside.
She told The Sun: “Los Angeles feels different now. The pandemic did not just pause the city, it reshaped it.
“People leave LA for a simple reason. They are no longer convinced the trade-off is worth it.
“For years, you paid a premium because you got sunshine, culture, opportunity, and excitement.
“Now many buyers ask, ‘What am I paying for exactly?’ I hear it constantly.
“They want to raise kids without constant stress.
“They want to walk to dinner without doing a risk assessment.
“I have heard of celebrities and high net worth individuals leaving, or choosing not to buy here, or keeping a smaller footprint in Los Angeles while basing themselves elsewhere.
“There is also a strong trend of people relocating to the UK. Some are going for creative reasons, some for lifestyle, some for family.
“There is a sense that London offers culture without the same level of daily chaos.
“The UK can feel like a reset button. It is quieter, it is more walkable, it has privacy built into the culture, and for some public figures that matters more than sunshine.
“There is also a feeling of stability that is attractive when people are tired of volatility.
“For some celebs, it is also about raising kids in an environment that feels less exposed and less intense.”
She revealed that many buyers now ask about security plans and response times.
“The biggest problems are the visible disorder, the unpredictability, and the sense that enforcement and services are not keeping up with reality
“For many residents, the scariest part is not one specific incident. It is the constant feeling of being on alert,” she added.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15763680/walking-dead-zombies-takeover-hollywood/