May 11, 2015
No Longer Sorry for Throwing Ted Cruz a Party, Gay Hotelier Lashes Out at Critics
EDGE READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Sometimes an apology comes with an expiration date.
Two weeks after issuing a mea culpa on Facebook where he said he "made a terrible mistake" inviting anti-gay 2016 GOP presidential hopeful Ted Cruz into the Manhattan penthouse apartment he shares with his partner Ian Reisner for a "fireside chat" with wealthy potential donors, gay New York hotelier, Mati Weiderpass is lashing out at the very people he apologized to a half month earlier.
In an opinion piece published in the New York Observer, Weiderpass lashed out at his critics.
"Since hosting a discussion with Texas Senator Ted Cruz in my home, I have been inundated with hateful, biased social media messages, and attacks from gay extremists (do I dare say the word?) who demand inclusion, but do not believe in dialogue." Weiderpass wrote.
In several places throughout the opinion piece, Weiderpass insists that the Cruz event held at his home was not a fundraiser. He also claims that he "did not organize the Cruz dinner, but did embrace the opportunity - again, in a non-fundraising setting-to discuss a number of important issues, including support for Israel and support for gay rights."
"The more that people know someone close who is gay, the less likely they will be intolerant of gay people," Weiderpass writes. "Should Senator Cruz-and others we don't agree with-never meet gay people?"
Cruz's dinner with Weiderpass and Reisner apparently didn't change his position on LGBT equality. As reported by EDGE , two days after he was hosted in their home, the Texas republican senator filed two bills in Congress aimed to protect states with marriage bans currently on the books.
Weiderpass' Observer piece is in stark contrast to the tone he took on April 26, when after a week of bad press, relentless criticism on social media and the launch of a boycott against his properties, he took toFacebook to issue the following apology:
"I share in Ian's remorse. I, too, lay humbled with what has happened in the last week. I made a terrible mistake. Unfortunately, I cannot undo this. You taught me a painful but important lesson. The people that know me know the work that I have done over the last 20 years for the advancement of gay rights. Today, I came to realize that I might have nullified my past efforts and accomplishments in just one week. On the eve of this momentous legal occasion at the Supreme Court, I dedicate myself to work even harder to advance our cause that I share with the LGBT community; our community. Again, to all that I have hurt, please accept my sincerest apologies."
For now, Weiderpass has a less contrite tone, going on the offensive against those he presumably apologized to. "As happens all too often, loud voices have muffled those who have commended me for confronting Senator Cruz with important issues," he wrote in the Observer." There are many who support this dialogue, yet haven't come forward for fear of being attacked."