--- title: N.Y. Politician Calls Cynthia Nixon an ‘Unqualified Lesbian’ description: Former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn apologizes to "Sex and the City" actress and gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon. canonical: https://time.com/5207658/gov-andrew-cuomo-ally-christine-quinn-calls-cynthia-nixon-an-unqualified-lesbian-ny-governor/ author: Sarah Gray article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-20T20:14:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:42:46.334Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: New York Politician Apologizes After Calling Cynthia Nixon an ‘Unqualified Lesbian’ og:description: Former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is an ally of Gov. Andrew Cuomo og:url: https://time.com/5207658/gov-andrew-cuomo-ally-christine-quinn-calls-cynthia-nixon-an-unqualified-lesbian-ny-governor/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt78a60117a5175ebc/69887a16bc6cfc30ba3db5b2/cynthia-nixon.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Director Cynthia Nixon attends the photo call for the cast of the of New Group World Premiere production of the Mark Gerrard play 'Steve' at the New 42nd Street Studios in New York City on Oct. 14, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: New York Politician Apologizes After Calling Cynthia Nixon an ‘Unqualified Lesbian’ twitter:description: Former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is an ally of Gov. Andrew Cuomo twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt78a60117a5175ebc/69887a16bc6cfc30ba3db5b2/cynthia-nixon.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # New York Politician Apologizes After Calling Cynthia Nixon an ‘Unqualified Lesbian’ by [Sarah Gray](https://time.com/author/sarah-gray/) ## Sarah Gray Mar 20, 2018 8:14 PM UTC  Director Cynthia Nixon attends the photo call for the cast of the of New Group World Premiere production of the Mark Gerrard play 'Steve' at the New 42nd Street Studios in New York City on Oct. 14, 2015. Director Cynthia Nixon attends the photo call for the cast of the of New Group World Premiere production of the Mark Gerrard play 'Steve' at the New 42nd Street Studios in New York City on Oct. 14, 2015.Walter McBride—Getty Images by [Sarah Gray](https://time.com/author/sarah-gray/) ## Sarah Gray Mar 20, 2018 8:14 PM UTC Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) [supporter](http://fortune.com/2014/10/30/womens-equality-party-new-york/) and former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn apologized for comments she made to the [_New York Post_](https://nypost.com/2018/03/20/christine-quinn-bashes-unqualified-lesbian-cynthia-nixon/) about actress, activist, and [New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon](http://time.com/5206095/cynthia-nixon-politics/). In the interview published on Tuesday, Quinn, who identifies as a lesbian, referred to Nixon as an “unqualified lesbian” and hammered the actress for not supporting her mayoral run. ([Nixon supported](https://www.refinery29.com/2013/11/57420/cynthia-nixon-bill-de-blasio-cabinet) now-Mayor Bill de Blasio.) “Cynthia Nixon was opposed to having a qualified lesbian become mayor of New York City,” she told the _Post_. “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.” On Tuesday afternoon, however, Quinn apologized [in a](https://twitter.com/chriscquinn/status/976161655129243648) [series](https://twitter.com/chriscquinn/status/976161827104215040) [of](https://twitter.com/chriscquinn/status/976161920028958720) [tweets](https://twitter.com/chriscquinn/status/976161992514908161). A spokesperson for Quinn also sent TIME the following statement: --- > “” --- Nixon announced her candidacy on Monday, and will challenge Gov. Cuomo, who is running for his third term, in the Democratic primary. The actress best known for her role as Miranda Hobbes in HBO’s _Sex and the City_ has never held political office, though she has been politically active on the issues of public education, LGBT rights, and women’s health. In interviews, Nixon has identified herself as bisexual. Quinn, who was Speaker from January 2006 to December 2013 and ran for mayor in 2013, praised the actress for her political activism for progressive causes, but hit Nixon for lacking political experience. In 2014, Quinn stumped for Cuomo to make the [Women’s Equality Party an official New York state political party](http://fortune.com/2014/10/30/womens-equality-party-new-york/). In 2015, Quinn was named a [special adviser](http://www.silive.com/news/2015/01/gov%5Fcuomo%5Fhires%5Fformer%5Fnyc%5Fcou.html) to Gov. Cuomo. > [](https://twitter.com/chriscquinn/status/556499562354184192) Nixon, who is running on a progressive platform, responded telling the _Post_, “It’s time for an outsider. I’m not an Albany insider.” TIME reached out to Nixon’s campaign. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5207658/gov-andrew-cuomo-ally-christine-quinn-calls-cynthia-nixon-an-unqualified-lesbian-ny-governor/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5207658/gov-andrew-cuomo-ally-christine-quinn-calls-cynthia-nixon-an-unqualified-lesbian-ny-governor/"},"headline":"New York Politician Apologizes After Calling Cynthia Nixon an ‘Unqualified Lesbian’","datePublished":"2018-03-20T20:14:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:42:46.334Z","description":"Former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is an ally of Gov. 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