From a Los Angeles Times story by Nathan Solis headlined “Journalist Yashar Ali files defamation suit against Los Angeles Magazine”:

In a sprawling June 9, 2021, feature that called Ali a “Twitter Power Broker,” Los Angeles Magazine delved into his career and personal life. The feature painted a negative profile of Ali’s work ethic and detailed his various relationships with celebrities and politicians, including comedian Kathy Griffin.

In 2020, Ali said Mayor Eric Garcetti’s top advisor, Rick Jacobs, forcibly kissed him on the lips and hugged him over the course of a decade. Ali worked in Democratic politics before becoming a freelance journalist and worked as Gavin Newsom’s deputy chief of staff when Newsom was mayor of San Francisco.