LGBT group sacks Democrat who attempted to ‘out’ Governor of Alabama

An LGBT group has retracted a job offer to Democratic lawmaker Patricia Todd, after she attempted to ‘out’ Governor of Alabama Kay Ivey.

Patricia Todd, who was the first openly gay lawmaker elected to Alabama’s legislature, took to social media to vent about Ivey’s perceived hypocrisy after the Governor lashed out at LGBT rights.

Todd wrote: “Will someone out her for God’s sake….I have heard for years that she is gay and moved her girlfriend out of her house when she became Gov. I am sick of closeted elected officials.”

Patricia Todd

Ivey, who is up for election this year, branded the claim a “disgusting lie” – and Todd suffered a sustained backlash in the wake of the comments.

Todd, who is about to retire form politics, was lined up to become executive director of the One Orlando Alliance – however, the LGBT rights group has now retracted the employment offer.

She was due to begin her new role on June 1, but the board voted unanimously to withdraw the job offer.

Jennifer Foster, chair of the board of directors, said: “The Board affirms that Ms. Todd’s recent comments are not aligned with the values of One Orlando Alliance. We strongly believe that coming out is a personal choice and we do not support involuntarily outing.

“This has been a challenging situation. While Ms. Todd has a well-established record of outstanding service to the community, her lapse in judgment has led us to end our relationship with her.

“We admire her many decades of exemplary service and believe that, with the right opportunity, Ms. Todd will continue to use her many talents to make significant progress advocating for justice and equality.”

Kay Ivey

• Dec 01

16 TV stars you grew up watching who later came out as LGBTQ+