Ted Cruz gets haircut at Dallas salon to support owner who defied coronavirus orders
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz decided to get a haircut Friday at Salon à la Mode in Dallas.
That’s the salon owned by Shelley Luther, the woman who was released from jail Thursday on Texas Supreme Court orders after she was put behind bars for reopening her businesses while statewide coronavirus restrictions were in place.
“I’m proud to stand with Shelley Luther,” Cruz said after his hair cut. “What happen to her was wrong.”
Cruz, a Republican, walked into the salon wearing a mask and gloves and was greeted by Luther, on the first day hair salons and barbershops were allowed to reopen in Texas. He told reporters outside that he got on a plane and flew from Houston to Dallas Friday morning specifically to get his hair cut at this salon to show support for Luther.
“I’m excited to be here,” he told her. “Thank you for everything you are doing.”
Cruz said it has been about three months since he’s had his hair cut. But he believes many of his colleagues in the Senate have had hair cuts despite stay at home orders and the closure of barber shops and salons.
He joked that his wife, Heidi, “was laughing at me. She said if I went much longer, I was going to be sporting a full-on mullet.”
Most of the haircut, along with comments Cruz and Luther gave to reporters, was live streamed.
Luther was in the national spotlight after being sentenced to a week in jail Tuesday for refusing orders to keep her business closed in the face of coronavirus-related restrictions. Her jailing prompted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott weigh in, modifying his executive orders to remove confinement as a consequence for violating them.
Cruz said what happened was abuse of power.
“That’s not right,” Cruz said of the sentence. “That’s not justice. That’s not Texas.”
He said the state and country must work to keep people safe but also let them provide for their families.
“This stuff is hard,” Cruz said. “But I think most Texans understand we’ve got to strike a balance.”
Luther was released from jail Thursday.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick volunteered Wednesday to serve Luther’s sentence under house arrest, and donated $7,000 — the amount of Luther’s fine — to her GoFundMe page. That fund has raised more than half a million dollars.
Luther said she plans “on spreading some of that gift” today in South Dallas. She also said she has reached out to two Laredo women accused of offering beauty services from home in violation of coronavirus orders to financially help them.
As for what happened, Luther said: “I would not change anything.”
This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 11:08 AM.
