Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot had some choice words for Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas this past weekend during the city’s Pride in the Park. Thomas, who was one of the justices who voted to successfully overturn Roe v. Wade Friday, received backlash for his concurring opinion which was shared the same day.
In it, he spoke of his plans to revisit access to contraception and the legality of gay marriage. Lightfoot, who attended Pride in the Park hand in hand with her wife, Amy Eshleman, shared her strong feelings on Thomas’ actions with attendees.
“Fuck Clarence Thomas! He thinks that we are going to stand idly by while they take our rights!” Lightfoot exclaimed. When criticized about her profanity, she refused to back down and simply tweeted: “I said what I said.”
Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas was seemingly appalled by her abrasive manner.
“It’s pretty embarrassing. There’s ways to criticize without inciting people to mob action,” Vallas said. “Even if you were echoing what somebody else said in the crowd, it’s dangerous and totally inappropriate. You’re almost trying to agitate people to violence when you think about it. ... If that’s not an invitation — if that’s not sanctioning it through your rhetoric — I don’t know what does.”
Sir, you’re more upset about Lightfoot saying “fuck” but remain quiet when it comes the Supreme Court taking away human rights? And since when does that word incite people to mob action?
Many conservatives as well as political opponents used Lightfoot’s actions as a pearl-clutching moment while not acknowledging their own hypocrisy. Lightfoot has been criticized for years about many things, but in this instance she just said what everyone in the crowd was thinking.