‘Vulgar behavior’: Reality TV star removed from role as Stockton’s vice mayor

More than a year after Stockton vice mayor and reality television personality Jason Lee was accused of being tied to an unauthorized $50,000 payment made to comedy show “Wild ’N Out” and later cleared, he was removed from his position.

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The Stockton City Council voted Tuesday to remove Lee from the vice mayor role amid ongoing feuds with other councilmembers and their criticism of Lee’s conduct, particularly on social media. (Lee, who was elected as a councilmember in 2024, was appointed the city’s vice mayor in early 2025 by Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi.)

During the fiery and conflict-fueled meeting, Lee requested to resign from the vice mayor position. He said he believes that “the title doesn’t drive leadership.”

“I’m going to take me and this whole thing out of the equation and let’s move forward,” Lee said during his resignation speech. “… We don’t need to keep the fight going. What we need to do is keep fighting for Stockton to be safer, to keep fighting for opportunity and keep fighting to bring our community and staff together.” 

Stockton city councilmember Michael Blower made a motion to approve Lee’s resignation, rather than vote to remove him. The vote failed, with three votes in support of accepting Lee’s resignation and four against it, including Fugazi.

The mayor then subsequently initiated a vote to remove Lee from his position. Lee was not present for the vote, having said he had to catch a flight to speak at Harvard University. The decision to not accept his resignation but remove Lee from his position passed in a 4-2 vote, with councilmembers Blower and Mario Enriquez against it. 

“It should not be this constant drama,” Fugazi said. “… The fight is coming from one direction and one direction only. And I have tried, and I am tired of it, and I can’t do it anymore.”

Many community members also attended the meeting, some in support of Lee.

“I had no idea how weak some of you members are up there? Like, literally tearing up, yelling and crying when the main person being bullied is Jason Lee every day,” one resident said.

The move comes after more than a year of disputes between Lee, Fugazi and other city officials, particularly as Lee, who served as the chair of the city’s audit committee, continuously questioned taxpayer spending and other city finances. Along with the “Wild ’N Out” controversy, during a June 2025 meeting, for example, Lee called for an investigation into why nearly $100,000 in funds allocated for diversity, equity and inclusion was used to hire a consultant for the interim city manager, local news outlet Stocktonia previously reported.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the city council also removed Lee from his position on the audit committee in a 4-3 vote. At one point, Fugazi pointed to investigations into the city council that have been suggested by Lee, calling them “witch hunts.” 

“Audit committee has completely been weaponized for power. For … It’s become like a shadow government, I would say, where the ability for someone to put whatever they want on there has happened,” Fugazi said. 

Councilmember Michele Padilla also criticized the audit committee’s working environment. 

“I am sick and tired of being bullied up here on this dais,” she said during the Tuesday meeting. “I was bullied on the audit committee, and it needs to stop.” 

Although Lee said he supported his removal as the audit committee chair, he defended his work as its chair. 

“Nobody has to like my approach. I came into this office saying if you did something funny with the money, you’re going to jail,” Lee said prior to the vote.

Lee added that going into his position as vice mayor, he didn’t realize there would be “so much corruption” and called the city government “a continuous circus that will not change with this group.”

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Much of Tuesday’s debate centered around Lee’s behavior on social media, where he frequently posts statements about the city council and his former position. In one of his most recent posts late Wednesday night, Lee acknowledged the vote and called the council “political chaos.” 

Fugazi accused Lee of disrespecting the councilmembers for more than a year and said she has observed “ugly displays on social media.” She also pointed to Lee’s use of profanity during news conferences and council meetings.

“I don’t know why people can’t see it. Why can’t you see it? It’s there. It’s there in front of everybody every day on social media, which is why I don’t go there. Because, it is, it’s soul snatching, soul stealing. It is inexcusable,” she said. “… You want freedom of speech, fine, don’t be an elected official.”

Padilla mentioned that because of Lee’s career in the entertainment industry, he has a distinctive way of engaging with the public. Lee is the CEO of “Hollywood Unlocked,” a multimedia platform with celebrity news and interviews, and he has hosted the “The Jason Lee Show.” He also has appeared on several reality shows, such as “Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood” and “Wild ’N Out.” 

“He’s a podcast you know, talk show host or whatever you want to call it. So he speaks very well and has the experience of talking to an audience and talking on social media,” Padilla said. She then said there had been “vulgar behavior.” 

Last year, the entertainer-turned-councilmember was under fire as city officials accused him of being involved in an unauthorized $50,000 payment made to “Wild ’N Out” when the show went on tour with a stop in Stockton. The investigation later determined that Lee was not involved in any illegal activity tied to the payment. Lee alleged that the allegations from city officials damaged his reputation and he was discriminated against. 

“As a black man I can not even believe this is my city,” Lee said in a Friday social media post, alleging that amid this turmoil, one of the city’s commissioners spelled out a racial slur.

Walter Mosley, an attorney for Lee, told SFGATE in an email that Lee believes he received “unequal treatment” from city officials because of his race and sexual orientation.

“Jason Lee is Black, gay and proud of both. He is also a lifelong Stocktonian and the elected representative of District 6. His identity matters to this story,” Mosley said.

Mosley said Lee’s team will be reviewing many of the issues raised during his term as vice mayor, including alleged retaliation he endured from city officials.

“His removal is being evaluated in that context. Calling his speech disruptive does not answer whether the City treated him differently because he is Black and gay, or whether the Council used its power to punish an elected official for demanding accountability and serving the residents the Council and Mayor purport to represent,” Mosley said.

Although Lee was removed from his role, Mosley said Lee will continue his work on local issues. He also urged Stockton voters to participate in upcoming elections.

“His work does not depend on the Vice Mayor title. He will continue to speak about the decisions affecting Stockton residents and press for a government that uses public resources responsibly,” Mosley said.

This news story has been updated.