Cynthia Nixon Hits Back At Christine Quinn's 'Unqualified Lesbian' Attack

Actress and advocate Cynthia Nixon took a moment during a campaign event Wednesday to respond to former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who called the Democratic gubernatorial hopeful “an unqualified lesbian” the day before.

Nixon’s announcement Monday that she will challenge New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) in September’s primary was met with skepticism from Quinn, a prominent member of the city’s LGBTQ community. Quinn ran unsuccessfully for mayor of New York in 2013, losing in the Democratic primary to Mayor Bill de Blasio, whom Nixon publicly endorsed. In an interview Tuesday, Quinn attacked Nixon’s lack of qualifications and experience, calling the candidate “an unqualified lesbian.”

Nixon, who identifies as bisexual, responded to the attack but laughed it off. “Yesterday, when I announced my candidacy, one of Gov. Cuomo’s top surrogates dismissed me as an ‘unqualified lesbian,’” Nixon said during an event at the historic Stonewall Inn.

“And I just want to say tonight that she was technically right,” Nixon continued. “I don’t have my certificate from the Department of Lesbian Affairs. But in my defense, there is a lot of paperwork involved.”

Quinn was quick to clarify her remarks on Tuesday after they went viral, arguing that she never meant to attack Nixon’s identity and was merely trying to make a comparison between herself and the gubernatorial candidate.

Take a look at Nixon’s response in the video above, around the 6:45 mark.