Former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is clarifying comments she made criticizing actress Cynthia Nixon’s bid for governor of New York.
Quinn, who’s openly gay and backs New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) — went after Nixon on Tuesday for endorsing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio over her in the 2013 Democratic primary for mayor.
“Cynthia Nixon was opposed to having a qualified lesbian become mayor of New York City. Now she wants to be an unqualified lesbian to be the governor of New York. You have to be qualified and have experience. She isn’t qualified to be the governor,” Quinn told the New York Post.
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After the Post published her comments, Quinn took to Twitter to clarify her remarks.
“To be clear, Cynthia Nixon’s identity has no bearing on her candidacy and it was not my intention to suggest it did,” she wrote. “I want to be clear about that. I would never, EVER, criticize someone because of their identity.”
“Cynthia Nixon aggressively opposed my candidacy in New York despite my qualifications for the office and despite my strong progressive credentials. I was attempting to make a comparison between the two of us,” she continued.
Nixon responded to Quinn’s remarks to the New York Post by telling the publication that neither her nor Quinn’s identity as a lesbian was an issue.
After months of speculation, the former “Sex and the City” star announced she is undertaking a Democratic primary challenge against Cuomo, the two-term incumbent governor, on Monday.
Democrats currently overwhelmingly favor Cuomo over Nixon, 66 percent to 19 percent, according to a poll from Siena College released on the day she announced her campaign.
The New York primary elections will be held on June 26.