Ted Cruz & Mati Weiderpass
Ian Reisner
Guess where Ted Cruz was the other night? Well, if you guessed the NYC penthouse of two rich Republican homosexuals, you’d be right! (Yes, THAT Ted Cruz, the 2016 presidential candidate that’s kicked off his campaign by asking voters to imagine an America where gays are second class citizens.) During the intimate gathering, according to two attendees, Mr. Cruz said he would have would be fine if one of his daughters was gay. No mention of his opposition to same-sex marriage, though. The dinner for about a dozen folks, with Cruz and his wife, Heidi, at the Central Park South penthouse of Mati Weiderpass and Ian Reisner, ex-boyfriends and longtime business partners, who are pioneers in the gay hospitality biz. They are the owners of the OUT NYC hotel and the commercial strip in the Fire Island Pines called The Pavillion. If you remember, Weiderpass and Reisner’s penthouse apartment made headlines last October too, when, sadly, a 23-year-old gay bar manager was found dead of a drug overdose in the bathtub. Negative reaction to the news of the Cruz dinner has been swift among the gay community, and a Facebook page has been created calling for a boycott of their business. Yes, it IS America and people can support any candidate they like… and by the same token, people are free to take their business elsewhere if they feel their dollars might go to a candidate they don’t support. It works both way, kids.
UPDATE: The New York Times reported on the event, and had this to say:
Both men, in an apparent effort to play down any outrage in the gay community, put out statements making clear they disagree with the Republican senator from Texas on gay rights.
“I was given the opportunity to have a candid conversation with Senator Ted Cruz on where he stood on all issues, foreign and domestic,” Mr. Reisner said. “It was just three months ago that I hosted a ‘Ready for Hillary’ event for a record turnout of 900 people at the Out Hotel.”
He added: “Senator Ted Cruz and I disagree strongly on the issue of gay marriage, but having an open dialogue with those who have differing political opinions is a part of what this country was founded on. My tireless support of the gay community and its causes worldwide hasn’t changed and will not change.”
Mr. Weiderpass said: “People on both sides of the aisle need to be able to communicate with one another even when they ideologically disagree. I worked tirelessly for the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ as a member of the board of directors for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and needed to reach across the aisle to make that happen. The fact that Senator Cruz accepted the invitation to my home was a step in the right direction toward him having a better understanding of who I am and what I believe in.”
Mr. Cruz’s aide Rick Tyler told The Washington Examiner that, in retrospect, the senator’s campaign should not have held the event there.
Ted Cruz issued this statement:
“I know it’s been a long time since we’ve seen it, but this is what it means to truly be a ‘big tent Republican’ instead of a panderer. I’m happy to go anywhere to anyone to champion conservative values,” the 44-year old Texas Republican claimed. “I’m hoping to offer enough bold leadership on a broad slate of issues that many voters will decide we agree on far more than we disagree…. when asked, I stated directly and unambiguously what everyone in the room already knew, that I oppose gay marriage and I support traditional marriage.”
Got it.
The Out Hotel NYC
The newly rebuilt Pavillion on Fire Island
(via Towleroad)
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