Linda Blair, best known for her role in The Exorcist, allegedly failed to respond to more than 20 attempts by authorities to reach her before officials raided her 2.5-acre property in Acton, California, where they found 251 dogs housed in kennels.
The 67-year-old Oscar nominee, who launched her nonprofit WorldHeart Foundation in 2003, had described the operation as a matter involving “paperwork” that needed to be addressed, while insisting the rescue animals were “fine.”
‘I don’t know why mail isn’t used more often to notify somebody,’ Blair – who boasts 156,624 social media followers – scoffed on Instagram last Friday. ‘Just saying.’
But the LA County Department of Regional Planning told TMZ on Monday that Blair, a longtime animal advocate, had ignored 24 outreach attempts over a three-year period as officials sought “to ensure animal welfare and check code violations” at her no-kill shelter.
The raid took place last Friday at 6 a.m., when about 70 personnel from law enforcement and multiple county agencies — including the Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning and the LA County Department of Animal Care and Control (DACC) — arrived at Blair’s home with an “investigative warrant.”
The Exorcist alum Linda Blair allegedly “ignored two dozen calls” from authorities before the “really big surprise” raid on her 2.5-acre Acton, California property uncovered 251 dogs in kennels (pictured in 2024)
A DACC representative previously told the Daily Mail that the Golden Globe winner’s permits, which allowed her to keep up to 60 rescue animals on the property, have been expired since 2023.
Despite the scale of the operation and neighbors’ complaints about constant “cries and howls from dogs sounding like they’re in distress,” officials said no dogs “showed signs of illness or injury,” and none were removed from the property during the raid.
The case is reportedly still “an active and ongoing investigation,” though authorities said the Missouri-born scream queen was “extremely cooperative” during the search.
Blair describes herself as ‘the main rescuer, hands-on healer, behaviorist, trainer and matchmaker for adopters’ at WorldHeart Foundation.
‘LBWF is a unique safe haven for animals providing top-quality, lifelong care to the animals it rescues,’ she wrote on the website.
‘We emphasize proper nutrition, provide first-class veterinary care, comfortable facilities, training, socializing, and of course, an abundance of love.’
Former LBWF staffer Ken Thomas told TMZ that Blair ‘could be in over her head’ as there were 150 dogs when he worked there and that was ‘overwhelming’ but she makes sure to care for each one.
Since 2024, the holistic vegan has been trying to move her shelter as she’s still in recovery from a near-fatal ‘thyroid storm,’ which led to her being hospitalized with sepsis and severe pneumonia and she was also diagnosed with Graves’ disease.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Blair’s reps for comment but did not immediately hear back.
The 67-year-old Oscar nominee – who founded her non-profit WorldHeart Foundation in 2003 – had downplayed the reason for the raid as ‘some paperwork that has to be dealt with’ and stressed that the ‘animals are fine’ (pictured last Friday)
‘I don’t know why mail isn’t used more often to notify somebody,’ Blair – who boasts 156,624 social media followers – scoffed on Instagram last Friday. ‘Just saying’
However, the LA County Department of Regional Planning told TMZ on Monday that the animal advocate ignored 24 attempts to contact her over three years ‘to ensure animal welfare and check code violations’ at her no-kill shelter (posted September 2)
70 members of law enforcement and other agencies – including the LACDRP and the LA County Department of Animal Care and Control (DACC) – descended on Blair’s residence last Friday at 6am with an ‘investigative warrant’ (pictured August 14)
A representative from the DACC previously told the Daily Mail the Golden Globe winner’s permits to house up to 60 rescue animals have been expired since 2023 (pictured in 2023)
Blair found worldwide fame in 1973 after beating 600 other starlets for the prosthetic-heavy role of a 12-year-old girl possessed by a demon in William Friedkin’s horror classic The Exorcist, which amassed $441.3 million at the global box office
The Missouri-born scream queen hasn’t acted since reprising her breakout role as Regan MacNeil alongside Ellen Burstyn (R) in David Gordon Green’s 2023 horror film The Exorcist: Believer, which earned $137 million at the box office despite dismal reviews
The former equestrian found worldwide fame in 1973 after beating 600 other starlets for the prosthetic-heavy role of a 12-year-old girl possessed by a demon in William Friedkin’s horror classic The Exorcist, which amassed $441.3 million at the global box office.
Blair hasn’t acted since reprising her breakout role as Regan MacNeil alongside Ellen Burstyn in David Gordon Green’s 2023 horror film The Exorcist: Believer, which earned $137 million at the box office despite dismal reviews.
The 5ft 2in brunette is also known for her roles in Roller Boogie (1979), Savage Island (1985), Repossessed (1990) and Scream (1996) as well as hosting Fox Family’s Scariest Places on Earth (2000-2006) and Animal Planet’s Pit Boss (2010-2012).
Blair, who romanced rock stars like Rick Springfield and Rick James, is currently penning a memoir.
