Los Angeles City Council President Nuri Martinez resigned immediately after an audio recording of her calling a council member’s black son a “little monkey” was leaked.
Martinez has since apologized amid widespread outrage over racist comments reportedly made about co-star Mike Bonin’s younger son in audio obtained by LA Times.
Martinez’s resignation, revealed in an email from the councilman’s office Monday, followed a taped October 2021 conversation between Martinez and Councilman Kevin de Leon, among other city officials.
Council President Nuri Martinez makes racist remarks in leaked audio about Councilman Mike Bonin’s youngest son, as Council members Gil Cedillo and Kevin de Leon and County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera step in.
Read more: https://t.co/Fm6jf9p6g2 pic.twitter.com/09U8Mq8TOM
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) October 10, 2022
Los Angeles City Council President Nuri Martinez Resigns and Apologizes After Leaked Racist Audio of Conversation with Other Latino Leaders
The couple was forced to apologize on Sunday for the disparaging remarks.
The now-former councilwoman, 49, and several other Latino leaders could be heard criticizing Bonino, who is white, and his adopted black son, saying “they’re raising him like a baby” and “that kid needs a beating.” .
Martinez also described the councilman’s son as “parece changuito,” or “like a monkey,” and called his adoptive father, who is also gay, a “little bitch.”
The hour-long racist audio clip was leaked on Sunday when the recording was posted anonymously on Reddit.
The October 2021 conversation between Martinez, de Leon, Councilmen Gil Cedilla and de Leon, and County Labor President Ron Herrera was originally about council members discussing maps that had been put forward by the city’s redistricting commission.
Leaked audio prompts widespread and immediate reaction, protests at Martinez home
The Los Angeles Times quickly received and published it, prompting an immediate backlash as protesters flocked to the now-ex-president’s home and demanded her resignation.
The protesters flouted a law that Martinez herself championed in 2021 that banned protests in residential areas.
Nuri Martinez called Councilman Mike Bonin’s son “ese changito,” which means “that little monkey” in Spanish. The recording, which captured the comments, was leaked and first posted on Reddit. She resigned as president of the Los Angeles City Council.#news #USA pic.twitter.com/4Rm8xyq49w
— GLOBEnewsflash (@GLOBEnewsflash) October 10, 2022
In a statement released Monday morning, the mayoral candidate issued an apology saying she was ashamed of her comments and announced she was resigning in response to public backlash over her racist remarks.
“I take responsibility for what I said and there is no excuse for those comments,” Martinez wrote in an emailed statement that was circulated amid calls for her firing. “I’m so sorry.”
Martinez ‘knows better’ and ‘truly ashamed’ of racist remarks caught on tape
Martinez tried to appeal to her sense of motherhood and said she “knows better” and “I’m really ashamed.”
“As a mother, I know better and I’m very sorry. I’m really ashamed,” Martinez wrote. “I know this is the result of my own actions. I apologize to your entire family for putting you through this.’
While she steps down as city council president, Martinez will keep her seat on the council and continue to work for the city.
She went on to directly apologize to Bonin, 55, and his partner Sean Arians, as well as their son.
Councilor whose son was targeted by racist remarks ‘Disgust, anger, heartache’ in leaked audio
In her public apology, the official noted that she had initiated numerous efforts to help minorities in her district, including the 2020 initiative she launched to help homeless school-aged children.
Nuri Martinez called Councilman Mike Bonin’s son “ese changito,” which means “that little monkey” in Spanish. The recording, which captured the comments, was leaked and first posted on Reddit. She resigned as president of the Los Angeles City Council.#news #USA pic.twitter.com/4Rm8xyq49w
— GLOBEnewsflash (@GLOBEnewsflash) October 10, 2022
“As someone who believes deeply in the empowerment of communities of color, I understand that my comments undermine that goal,” Martinez said. “In the future, my priority will be reconciliation. I have already reached out to many of my black colleagues and other black leaders to express my regret so that we can heal.”
In response, Bonin informed Art Los Angeles Times that he was “disgusted, angry and tormented” by the leaked audio clip.
“Is it fair game to attack me other than my son?” he added, calling for the resignation of all three members of the city’s Latino council. “You have to be pretty shallow, insecure and poisonous to attack a child. He was not even 3 years old.
Bonin went on to add that “other than that, I’m at a loss for words.”
