LGBT activists call out Cynthia Nixon for criticising New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on equal marriage

LGBT activists have condemned actress and New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon after she bashed Governor Andrew Cuomo’s record on equal marriage.

Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon, a long-time LGBT activist, is standing in the Democratic primary as a left-wing challenger to existing Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Although Nixon could make history as New York’s first out Governor, established LGBT groups and politicians in the state have largely backed Cuomo, citing his support for equality and Nixon’s lack of experience.

In an interview with New York Magazine this week Nixon took a dig at Cuomo’s record, claiming he moved on the issue in 2011 because “he had a lot of big Republican donors who wanted the marriage issue to go away because they thought it was making the party look bad.”

She added: “It was getting embarrassing…  Iowa had marriage equality and not New York.”

Those comments have now been condemned by LGBT activists who ran the campaign for marriage equality in New York, who have defended Governor Cuomo’s record.

Cathy Marino-Thomas, former board president of Marriage Equality USA, penned an open letter to Nixon calling her out.

She said: “Ms Nixon’s account of the political landscape at best shows naivety and ignorance or at worst is a cynical omission of the truth.

“The passage of New York’s Marriage Equality Act was never an easy or politically expedient task even in 2011.”

“Her take is not just inaccurate, it’s undermining of important work by true activists and supportive elected officials.