When Lt. Gov Jennifer Carroll was accused of firing staffer Carletha Cole after Cole claimed to have walked in on the lieutenant governor during a gay tryst with her female travel aide, Carroll used the old tried-and-true "Look at me! I don't look like a gay!" defense by saying: "Usually black women that look like me don't engage in relationships like that."
Well, Carroll issued an apology yesterday to Equality Florida director Nadine Smith because she had a sudden change of heart her Facebook page was inundated with angry comments and Smith started an online petition demanding an apology.
Carroll wrote the apology in a letter to Equality Florida, a group dedicated to equal rights for gays and lesbians:
It is wrong and inexcusable to make a comment that hurts people, and that was not my intention. As a Christian, my faith guides me to love and respect all people. The false charges that have been lodged against me are no excuse for what I have said.Carroll personally called Smith, who is Equality Florida's executive director, to issue a mea culpa over the phone. Smith responded to the apology on her blog:
I want to thank Lt. Governor Carroll for taking responsibility for her words and for responding to the harm those words inflicted.This whole mess started last week when a Tampa 10 reporter confronted Carroll about the accusations "lodged" against her. But then Carroll opened her mouth hole and dumb things came out, and now here we are with the proverbial apology spin.
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