Former Candidate Slams 'Unqualified Lesbian' Nixon

Former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn—who considers herself a "qualified lesbian"—isn't happy about Cynthia Nixon's Democratic primary challenge to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The former Sex and the City star supported rival Bill de Blasio when Quinn ran for mayor in 2013. Nixon "was opposed to having a qualified lesbian become mayor of New York City. Now she wants an unqualified lesbian to be the governor of New York," Quinn told the New York Post in an interview Tuesday. "You have to be qualified and have experience. She isn't qualified to be the governor,” Quinn said, calling Nixon's run a "flight of fancy."

Quinn praised Nixon's support for progressive causes, but added: "Being an actress and celebrity doesn’t make you qualified for public office. This is a time to move away from celebrity and toward progressive leadership." In response, Nixon said it was time for an outsider to deal with corruption in Albany. "Her being a lesbian and my being a lesbian" is not the issue, she said. In social media posts after the Post interview ignited controversy, Quinn stressed that she was criticizing Nixon's qualifications, not her identity, NBC reports. "To be clear, Cynthia Nixon's identity has no bearing on her candidacy and it was not my intention to suggest it did," she said. (More Cynthia Nixon stories.)