Shelley Luther has a new customer.
The Dallas business owner smack in the middle of a controversial arrest for opening her hair salon in the face of state orders was visited Friday by Sen. Ted Cruz who was looking to avoid becoming a mullet trendsetter.
“We’re thrilled to be with you and know the whole State of Texas is standing with you, so thank you for your courage,” the Texas Republican said, according to CBS DFW.
Luther’s Salon a la Mode has been visited by other notable customers this week, including Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor.
Like many Texans, Luther and her staff have been faced with financial hardships during the lockdown over the coronavirus. The disease is considered highly contagious and salons require close proximity. She was served a cease-and-desist order last week and then publicly tore up the documents.
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Luther was eventually arrested and hit with a $7,000 fine. Her arrest drew national attention when Judge Eric Moye told her that she could skip jail, as long as she apologized to the court for being selfish and risking the lives of her staff and customers.
She declined to apologize and took issue with his implication that she was being selfish. She told the court that trying to feed your children is not a selfish act. Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton both spoke out against her detainment, and the Texas Supreme Court eventually released her from jail.
MarketWatch reported Friday that 33.5 million Americans have applied for unemployment over the past seven weeks. But economists estimate that that number is likely short by 2.5 million, which included those who work in the “gig economy.”
Luther’s plight served as an example of the pain that many Americans are feeling.
Cruz joked with Luther and said he did not have a haircut in three months. His wife has been joking with him that it seems that he is intent on bringing back the “mullet.”
Luther said what touched her most of all was that Cruz’s family called her boyfriend and “prayed for him for 20 minutes” while she was in jail.
“To me that’s not political…that’s just really nice people reaching out and making sure that our family is OK,” she told the station.