Cynthia Nixon Snarks Back Against ‘Unqualified Lesbian’ Diss: ‘There’s a Lot of Paperwork Required’
“Sex and the city” star pushes back after New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn dismisses her campaign for governor
Ross A. Lincoln | March 21, 2018 @ 9:30 PM
Last Updated: March 21, 2018 @ 10:07 PM
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Cynthia Nixon brushed off a comment from a politician who referred to her as an “unqualified lesbian” while dismissing her campaign for governor of New York.
New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who is a lesbian herself, was juxtaposing Nixon’s qualifications with her own when she made the widely criticized remark.
At the launch party for her campaign, held Wednesday night at LGBT rights landmark the Stonewall Inn, Nixon joked that she really is unqualified.
“When I announced yesterday that I’m running for guv, one of Cuomo’s top surrogates dismissed me as an ‘unqualified lesbian,'” Nixon said in her speech, part of which was posted to Twitter. “It’s true that I never received my certificate from the Department of Lesbian Affairs, though in my defense there’s a lot of paperwork required.”
Quinn, a close ally of current New York governor Andrew Cuomo, ran for New York mayor in 2013. At the time, Nixon endorsed her opponent, Bill de Blasio, something that appeared to be very much on Quinn’s mind when the actress announced her candidacy.
“Cynthia Nixon was opposed to having a qualified lesbian become mayor of New York City,” Quinn said Tuesday in an interview with the New York Post. “Now she wants to be an unqualified lesbian to be the governor of New York. You have to be qualified and have experience. She isn’t qualified to be the governor.”
While Quinn may have been juxtaposing her sexuality alongside Nixon’s as a rhetorical flourish, the barb didn’t go over well. Reactions ranged from anger to mockery. In a statement to TheWrap, Quinn said she didn’t intend to criticize Nixon for her sexual identity — especially since she is a lesbian herself.
“Cynthia Nixon’s identity has no bearing on her gubernatorial candidacy and it was not my intention to suggest it did. I want to be clear about that. I would never, ever, criticize someone because of their identity. I’ve experienced that kind of criticism time and time again and I would never support it or condone it,” she told TheWrap. “As a lesbian who ran one of the most high-profile races in the country, I know what that’s like. And I know it’s imperative that we encourage more members of our community to run for office. Cynthia Nixon aggressively opposed my candidacy in New York, despite my qualifications for the office and despite my strong progressive credentials. I was attempting to make a comparison between the two of us. The real point I am trying to make is that qualifications matter and records matter. I do not believe she has the qualifications or the record.”
“I love New York. I’ve never lived anywhere else,” said Nixon in a promotional video this week. “But something has to change. We want our government to work again, on healthcare, ending mass incarceration, fixing our broken subway. We are sick of politicians who care more about headlines and power than they do about us. It can’t just be business as usual anymore.”
29 Stars Who Need Only an Oscar to EGOT, From Hugh Jackman to Lin-Manuel Miranda (Photos)
The EGOT -- an acronym for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony -- is the greatest honor in entertainment. These stars are (or were) close to achieving it.
Cynthia Nixon (1966 - )
Emmys (2): Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, "Sex and the City" (2004); Guest Actress in a Drama Series, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (2008)
Grammy: Spoken Word Album, "An Inconvenient Truth" (2008)
Tonys (2): Actress in a Play, "Rabbit Hole" (2006); Featured Actress in a Play, "Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes" (2017)
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Lin-Manuel Miranda (1980 - )
Emmy: Original Music and Lyrics, "67th Annual Tony Awards" (2014)
Grammys (2): Best Musical Theater Album, "In the Heights" (2008) and "Hamilton" (2017)
Tonys (3): Score, "In the Heights" (2008) and "Hamilton" (2016); Musical, "Hamilton" (2016)
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Hugh Jackman (1968 - )
Emmy: Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program, "58th Annual Tony Awards" (2004)
Grammy: Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, "The Greatest Showman" (2018)
Tony: Actor in a Musical, "The Boy From Oz" (2004)
Harry Belafonte (1927 - )
Emmy: Performance in a Variety or Musical Program or Series, "The Revlon Revue" (1960)
Grammys (2): Folk Performance, "Swing Dat Hammer" (1960); Folk Recording, "An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba" (1965)
Tony: Supporting Actor in a Musical, "John Murray Anderson's Almanac" (1954)
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Bette Midler (1945 - )
Emmys (3): Special - Comedy, Variety or Music, "Bette Midler Ol' Red Hair Is Back" (1978); Performance in a Variety or Music Program, "Bette Midler: Diva Las Vegas" (1997) and "The Tonight Show" (1992)
Grammy (3): Best New Artist (1973); Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, "The Rose" (1980); Record of the Year, "Wind Beneath My Wings" (1989)
Tony: Actress in a Musical, "Hello, Dolly!" (2017)
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Audra McDonald (1970 - )
Emmy: Special Class Program, "Live From Lincoln Center" (2015)
Grammys (2): Classical Album and Opera Recording, "Weill: Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny" (2008)
Tonys (6): Featured Actress in a Musical, "Carousel" (1994); Featured Actress in a Play, "Master Class" (1996); Featured Actress in a Musical, "Ragtime" (1998); Featured Actress in a Play, "A Raisin in the Sun" (2004); Actress in a Musical, "The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess" (2012); Actress in a Play, "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill" (2014)
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Cyndi Lauper (1953 - )
Emmy: Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, "Mad About You" (2005)
Grammys (2): Best New Artist (1984); Musical Theater Album, "Kinky Boots" (2013)
Tony: Score, "Kinky Boots" (2013)
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Marc Shaiman (1959 - )
Emmy: Writing in a Variety or Music Program, "The 64th Annual Academy Awards" (1992)
Grammy: Musical Show Album, "Hairspray" (2002)
Tony: Score, "Hairspray" (2003)
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Lily Tomlin (1939 - )
Emmys (6): Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Special, "Lily" (1974) and The Lily Tomlin Special (1976) and "The Paul Simon Special" (1978); Variety, Music or Comedy Program, "Lily" (1974) and "Lily: Sold Out" (1981); Voiceover Performance, "An Apology to Elephants" (2013)
Grammy: Comedy Recording, "This Is a Recording" (1971)
Tony: Actress in a Play, "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe" (1986)
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Dick Van Dyke (1925 -)
Emmys (4): Actor in a Comedy Series, "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1964, 1965 and 1966); Comedy-Variety or Music Series, "Van Dyke and Company" (1977)
Grammy: Recording for Children, "Mary Poppins" (1964)
Tony: Featured Actor in a Musical, "Bye, Bye Birdie" (1961)
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James Earl Jones (1931 - )
Emmys (2): Actor in a Drama Series, "Gabriel's Fire" (1991); Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special, "Heat Wave" (1991)
Grammy: Spoken Word Recording, "Great American Documents" (1976)
Tonys (2): Actor in a Play, "The Great White Hope" (1969) and "Fences" (1987)
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David Yazbek (1961 - )
Emmy: Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program, "Late Night With David Letterman" (1984)
Grammy: Musical Theater Album, "The Band's Visit" (2018)
Tony: Original Musical Score, "The Band's Visit (2018)
Grammy: Musical Theater Album, "The Book of Mormon" (2011)
Tony (2): Score and Book, "The Book of Mormon" (2011)
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Ben Platt (1993 - )
Daytime Emmy (1): Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program, "Dear Evan Hansen" on "Today" (2018)
Grammy: Best Musical Theater Album, "Dear Evan Hansen" (2018)
Tony: Best Actor in a Musical, "Dear Evan Hansen" (2017)
Rachel Bay Jones (1969 - )
Daytime Emmy (1): Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program, "Dear Evan Hansen" on "Today" (2018)
Grammy: Best Musical Theater Album, "Dear Evan Hansen" (2018)
Tony: Best Featured Actress in a Musical, "Dear Evan Hansen" (2017)
Julie Harris (1925–2013)
Emmys (3): Single Performance by an Actress, "Little Moon of Alban" (1959); Single Performance by an Actress, "Victoria Regina" (1962); Voiceover Performance, "Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony" (2000)
Grammy: Spoken Word Recording, "The Belle Of Amherst" (1977)
Tonys (5): Actress in a Play, "I Am a Camera" (1952), "The Lark" (1956), "Forty Carats" (1969), "The Last of Mrs. Lincoln" (1973) and "The Belle of Amherst" (1977)
Courtesy: Bill Doll and Company
Cynthia Erivo (1987 - )
Daytime Emmy: On-Camera Musical Performance in a Daytime Program, "Today" (2017)
Grammy: Musical Theater Album, "The Color Purple" (2016)
Tony: Actress in a Musical, "The Color Purple" (2016)
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Cy Coleman (1929-2004)
Emmys (2): Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Special, "Shirley MacLaine: If They Could See Me Now" (1975); Comedy-Variety or Music Special, "Gypsy in My Soul" (1976)
Grammy: Musical Show Album, "The Will Rogers Follies" (1991)
Tonys (3): Score, "On the Twentieth Century" (1978), "City of Angels" (1990) and "The Will Rogers Follies" (1991)
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Quincy Jones (1933 - )
Emmy: Music Composition for a Series Original Dramatic Score, "Roots" (1977)
Grammy:27 wins, including Record of the Year, "Beat It" (1983) and "We Are the World" (1985); Album of the Year, "Back on the Block" (1990)
Tony: Musical Revival (producing), "The Color Purple" (2016)
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Fred Ebb (1928-2004) and John Kander (1927 - )
Emmy: Original Music and Lyrics, "Liza With a Z" (1973) and "Liza Minnelli Live from Radio City Music Hall" (1993); Ebb also won for "Gypsy in My Soul" (1976) and producing "Liza With a Z"
Grammy: Best Score From an Original Cast Show Album, "Cabaret" (1967)
Tonys (4): Musical and Composer/Lyricist, "Cabaret" (1967); Score, "Woman of the Year" (1981); Score, "Kiss of the Spider Woman" (1993)
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Bill Sherman (1981 - )
Daytime Emmys (2): Original Song - Children's and Animation, "Sesame Street" (2011); Original Song, "Sesame Street" (2015)
Grammys (2): Best Musical Theater Album, "In the Heights" (2008) and "Hamilton" (2017)
Tonys (2): Orchestrations, "In the Heights" (2008); Musical (producing), "Kinky Boots" (2013)
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Martin Charnin (1934 - )
Emmys (3): Variety or Musical Program, "Annie, the Women in the Life of a Man" (1970); Variety or Musical Program and Directorial Achievement in Comedy or Variety, "'S Wonderful, 'S Marvelous, 'S Gershwin" (1972)
Grammy: Cast Show Album, "Annie" (1977)
Tony: Score, "Annie" (1977)
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Jerry Bock (1928–2010)
Daytime Emmy: Original Song - Children's and Animation, "Wonder Pets!" (2010)
Grammy: Score From an Original Cast Show Album, "She Loves Me" (1963)
Tonys (4): Musical, "Fiorello!" (1960), "Hello, Dolly!" (1964) and "Fiddler on the Roof" (1965); plus Score, "Fiddler on the Roof" (1965)
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James Whitmore (1921–2009)
Emmy: Guest Actor in a Drama Series, "The Practice" (2000)
Grammy: Spoken Word Recording, "Give 'Em Hell Harry" (1975)
Tony: Performance by Newcomers, "For Love or Money" (1948)
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Anne Garefino (1959 - )
Emmys (5): Animated Program (producing), "South Park" (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2013)
Grammy: Musical Theater Album, "The Book of Mormon" (2011)
Tony: Musical (producing), "The Book of Mormon" (2011)
Emmy: 7 individual wins, including for "Omnibus" (1957 and 1958); "Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic" (1961); "New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts" (1965); "Beethoven's Birthday" (1972); and "Carnegie Hall: The Grand Reopening" (1987)
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