Curtis Boyd, the Mayor of Darlington, a small town in South Carolina, has denied he was using a gay slur during a recent council meeting.
He says when he used the word “f****t” he was referring to a bunch of sticks.
In a heated exchange at a council meeting this week a member of the public suggested that Boyd may not be eligible to be the community’s mayor because he does not live within the city limits.
The mayor responded, telling the constituent he was welcome to come home and sleep naked with him his bed.
“You’re welcome to leave with me tonight, and if you want, you can sleep in my bed butt naked with me,” he said.
The resident hit back saying “I’m not gay, I’m not a f****t. I’m not a homosexual”
The mayor responded, repeating the slur, saying “I’m not a f****t. either, but you’re welcome to see where I stay.”
Boyd later told a local news outlet that the technical definition of the word he used is a bundle of sticks, and that was is intended use. He said he was unaware that the word was also a gay slur.
“The F word… that you are referring to means a bundle of sticks,” Boyd said. “And he said he was not that; I said I’m not that either. Whatever it is, I looked it up, and it means a bundle of sticks. If you look at the dictionary.”
His response was widely ridiculed, and on Thursday he offered an apology to those who may have been upset by his comment but maintained he had not done anything wrong.
“I could have probably said something nicer, or different, or in a nicer way. I could have just let him sit down from the beginning,” Boyd said. “I could have done a lot of things differently. But, I’m not– I haven’t done anything wrong, or said anything wrong to him.” Boyd told local media.
