Actor Nicolas Cage has walked back a claim that he was left “homeless” after a sinkhole threatened his $10.5 million Malibu home, saying he was merely “riffing” during an interview.
“I went to Comic Con and I was riffing with a very good interviewer and he just had to ask, because it was Halloween night, ‘What are you doing for Halloween?’ Now, when I said that, I meant my house is not available for trick or treaters,” Cage told the Associated Press on Wednesday.
“Now, I have to watch my words so much to the letter. We’re content. We’re fine. We’re not destitute. We’re okay,” he said, adding that he meant only that his house was “not available for decorations and for candy to hand out to the children.”
The remark that sparked the backlash came at LA Comic Con last week, where Cage said, “I’m currently a little bit homeless. Something happened to my house in Malibu so I’m just sort of living in hotels, so I don’t have normal trick-or-treaters I would like to enjoy tonight.” The 62-year-old actor drew criticism on social media from people who objected to his use of the word “homeless.”
What happened to the house
The trouble began in early September, when the City of Malibu said Cage’s beachfront property was affected “due to coastal erosion from the high tides and high surf.” Cage’s home was one of five beachfront properties in the area that were red tagged, and an evacuation order was put in place for the affected homes. The emergency was compounded by a gas leak at the back of Cage’s property.
Since the incident, Cage has moved to protect the property, located in Los Angeles County. He filed three permits within days of the sinkhole emergency, including an emergency building permit that allowed him to place sandbags against the beach and the exterior of the house to guard against further erosion and wave damage. He also secured permits for asphalt debris removal and excavation work to collect soil samples.
Cage bought the home, which features a private rooftop deck and private beach access, in 2024.
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