Aykroyd’s remarks, made during an appearance on The Adam Carolla Show, have resurfaced as California continues grappling with homelessness, public safety concerns, and questions about billions of dollars spent attempting to address the crisis.
And his description was hardly a glowing advertisement for the California lifestyle.
Aykroyd Paints a Grim Picture of Santa Monica
Aykroyd acknowledged that Santa Monica still possesses much of the scenery and architecture that have made Southern California famous.
But he immediately contrasted that beauty with what residents encounter on the streets.
“It’s beautiful there,” he said of Santa Monica – “beautiful houses and beautiful shops and lovely wide boulevards and 60,000 homeless.”
Then came the line that captured his assessment of the situation.
“We’re living in frankly medieval times,” the Ghostbusters star said.
Aykroyd explained that the conditions have changed how he goes about his everyday life.
He said he drives “very carefully.”
He also avoids driving during what he described as “prison hours” at night and lives behind the protection of a gated community.
For a celebrity who has spent decades in the entertainment industry, those comments offer a remarkable glimpse at how he views life in one of America’s wealthiest regions.
Aykroyd even told Carolla that he would like to have the freedom to visit a park with his family at 1 a.m.
“But, no,” Aykroyd said. “We have to be so guarded now.”
That is an extraordinary statement about a state whose political leadership routinely presents California as a blueprint for the rest of the nation.
Billions Spent as Homelessness Remains a Crisis
Aykroyd’s comments also land amid renewed scrutiny of California’s enormous spending on homelessness.
The state has poured roughly $24 billion into homelessness-related programs since 2018, yet tents, vehicles and makeshift shelters remain familiar sights across portions of Los Angeles County.
The 2026 Los Angeles homeless count reported 45,194 homeless people inside the city, while the countywide figure stood at 73,040.
Even more troubling, the number of unsheltered homeless people in Los Angeles reportedly increased 7.9 percent after previous declines.
Those figures raise an obvious question for California officials: After years of spending and promises, why does the problem remain so visible?
The controversy has also engulfed the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, commonly known as LAHSA.
The agency has faced intense scrutiny over its finances and effectiveness. Los Angeles officials moved to shift responsibilities away from LAHSA, while disputes over federal funding added another layer of turmoil.
For taxpayers, the bureaucratic fighting does little to change what they can see outside their windows.
California has spent staggering sums trying to solve homelessness, yet residents continue encountering encampments and disorder in some of the most expensive communities in America.
Aykroyd’s “medieval” description cuts through years of government reports and political talking points precisely because it is so simple.
California’s Famous Exodus
The criticism is particularly damaging because Aykroyd is hardly the only wealthy or famous person who has reconsidered life in California.
Scott Baio departed after decades in the state.
Mark Wahlberg moved his family to Nevada.
Joe Rogan relocated to Texas.
Elon Musk moved major business operations out of California, including shifting the headquarters of SpaceX and X to Texas.
Fitness personality Jillian Michaels also left California and has publicly criticized Newsom and the state’s political direction.
Their reasons have varied, and California remains home to tens of millions of people and one of the world’s largest economies.
Still, the departures have become politically symbolic.
For decades, California attracted entertainers, entrepreneurs and ambitious Americans looking for opportunity.
Now some of its most recognizable former residents are explaining why they wanted out.
Carolla Highlights California’s Stunning Contradiction
Carolla offered his own illustration of the strange divide that now exists along portions of the California coast.
“You have Jay-Z and Beyoncé buy a $200 million house in Malibu, but in order to get there, you have to drive through a homeless encampment.”
Few examples better demonstrate the contradiction.
California contains breathtaking wealth, some of the world’s most expensive real estate and an economy larger than those of many countries.
Yet residents can travel only a short distance from multimillion-dollar properties and encounter tents, people sleeping on sidewalks and sprawling encampments.
That juxtaposition helps explain why Aykroyd’s choice of words resonates.
In the medieval world, powerful and wealthy people protected themselves behind gates and walls while disorder existed outside.
Aykroyd described a modern version of that separation: living in a gated community, avoiding certain hours and remaining constantly alert while traveling.
Newsom can point to programs, budgets and government initiatives.
Residents experience the results on the ground.
And after billions of dollars in spending, one of Hollywood’s most recognizable stars found a single word to describe what he sees around him.
“We’re living in frankly medieval times.”
