Doug Ford denies using sexist slur against Toronto Star reporter
Posted October 23, 2014 7:46 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Reporters and mayoral candidates are slamming Doug Ford for a comment he allegedly made after Wednesday night’s mayoral debate.
Following a media scrum, a Toronto Star photographer and a CTV producer overheard Ford refer to Toronto Star reporter Jennifer Pagliaro as a “little b****.”
Pagliaro tweeted that she tried to follow-up with Ford about the comment, but he did not respond.
Ford has released a statement denying the accusations.
“I respect that reporters have a job to do but I am being accused of something that is not accurate,” Ford said.
He claims he was having a private conversation with two staff members that was “completely unrelated to anyone in the room.”
Ford’s mayoral rivals John Tory and Olivia Chow condemned the sexist comments.
Ford has disparaged female reporters in the past. In a 2012 radio interview, he accused Globe and Mail reporter Kelly Grant of lying in a story and urged Grant — who was pregnant at the time — to get off her “lazy ass.” Pagliaro’s colleagues have been quick to defend the reporter, tweeting corroborations of the story and support for her and her work.
Torontonians go to the polls on Monday.
The final televised debate of the election campaign airs Thursday at 6 p.m. on City.
