On Aug. 20, 2025, a widely shared screenshot purported to show an X post from California Gov. Gavin Newsom's press office responding with a profanity to retail chain Bed Bath & Beyond's announcement that the company would not open or operate any retail stores in California.
"F*** YOU. BYE," the alleged response read.
Some accounts sharing the screenshot alleged that Newsom's press office had "lashed out" then "deleted" the post.
(X user @culver_mandy)
There is no evidence Newsom's press office ever made the above post. It issued a different response to the announcement from Bed Bath & Beyond and also denied making the above post. We also found no evidence that such a post was deleted from Newsom's account. As such we rate the screenshot as fake.
On Aug. 20, Marcus Lemonis, executive chairman of Bed Bath & Beyond, released a statement saying the company would no longer open retail stores in California because the state has one of the most overregulated and expensive business environments in the country:
This decision isn't about politics — it's about reality. California has created one of the most overregulated, expensive, and risky environments for businesses in America. It's a system that makes it harder to employ people, harder to keep doors open, and harder to deliver value to customers.
The result? Higher taxes, higher fees, higher wages that many businesses simply cannot sustain, and endless regulations that strangle growth. Even when the state announces a budget surplus, it's built on the backs of ordinary citizens who are paying too much and businesses who are squeezed until they break.
We looked for an example of Newsom's press office account posting an expletive in response to this announcement and found none.
Newsom's press office also denied making such a post. In response to the screenshot, it wrote, "we never posted this (fake screenshot) — but it is funny lol."
Instead, Newsom's press office released the following response to Bed Bath & Beyond's announcement: "After their bankruptcy and closure of every store, like most Americans, we thought Bed, Bath & Beyond no longer existed. We wish them well in their efforts to become relevant again as they try to open a 2nd store."
In 2023, the retail chain filed for bankruptcy, closing more than 300 stores around the U.S. The company reopened a store in Nashville in early August 2025, under the name Bed, Bath & Beyond Home.
The fake screenshot appeared to mimic the combative tone Newsom's X account had taken on for several months.
We have covered plenty of misinformation about Newsom in the past, including photographs misrepresenting his wife's shopping trip, and a fake photograph of Newsom kissing Trump.