It's not out of the ordinary in the U.S for celebrities to try their hand at politics further down the line. Once they have established themselves in show business and made enough money to be comfortable, a lot of celebs either buy completely ridiculous things and go off the rails - or they start leaning into activism.
Cynthia Nixon may be best known for her portrayal of Miranda on Sex and the City, she has also worked extensively as an advocate for the LGBTQ community over the years, being bisexual herself. Now, as a native New Yorker, she is running for Governor on a platform that stands for equitable public education and improved mass transit.
However, not everyone is happy about the actress entering the world of politics.
Former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who supports Governor Andrew Cuomo, criticized Nixon's inclusion in the race. A member of the Democratic Party, Quinn was the first female and first openly gay speaker to hold office, serving from 2006 until 2013.
But when she was asked by the New York Post what she thought about Nixon running for Governor, she called her an "unqualified lesbian".
"I'm surprised by this race. It's a flight of fancy on her part.
"Cynthia Nixon was opposed to having a qualified lesbian become mayor of New York City. Now she wants 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."
This refers to when Quinn ran against Bill de Blasio for Mayor of New York City in 2013, as Nixon was a vocal supporter of de Blasio at the time. With her campaign in full swing, Nixon took this comment in stride and fired back with this latest tweet:
"When I announced yesterday that I’m running for gov, one of Cuomo’s top surrogates dismissed me as an 'unqualified lesbian.' 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."
Twitter absolutely loved this response, with her tweet getting nearly 30,000 retweets already. And then came the perfect reply:
Later in the interview with The Post, Quinn did concede that they do both support progressive positions, but she believes she needs more than that to run for office.
"She’s an accomplished actress, a supporter of political causes and that’s a good thing," Quinn said.
"But she’s never run an organization. Being an actress and celebrity doesn’t make you qualified for public office. This is a time to move away from celebrity and toward progressive leadership."
When asked about this by The Post, Nixon was quoted as saying "Her being a lesbian and my being a lesbian" is not the issue. She added, their competition is really about "the corruption in Albany. It’s time for an outsider. I’m not an Albany insider."
However, after this all went down, Quinn took to Twitter to clarify her statements, explaining how she never wanted to attack someone based on their identity:
While it's understandable that Quinn would want to point out that Nixon opposed her previously and has no political experience, it does seem a little much to bring her sexuality into it, regardless of where Quinn is on that spectrum.