‘I’m deeply sorry’: King

New PC leader offers unqualified apology for ‘offensive’ tweets

Dennis King says he has done some soul-searching over the last few days about his past comments on Twitter, which some have described as misogynistic and homophobic.

The newly elected Provincial Conservative leader came under fire on Friday after the tweets made headlines. One of these tweets, from May of 2016, suggested Islanders who shopped at Walmart were inbred. Another compared the play of the Montreal Canadians in May of 2014 to the “philosophy” he “used to get laid at Myrons.” This tweet bore the hashtags #justhangaround and #uglyonescounttoo.

In an interview with the CBC, King said he made the tweets partly because he is a comedian and storyteller. He said his intent was not to offend.

Reached on Tuesday, King offered an unqualified apology.

“I’ve been through a pretty broad range of emotions on the issue of these tweets over the last few days,” King said.

“I know what I did was wrong. The words were offensive, and for that I’m deeply sorry. They don’t represent who I am as a person or what I stand for as a party leader.”

King also said he recognized the tweets helped to perpetuate a “culture that we need to change”.

“I have a 14-year-old daughter. I don’t want her to be part of a society where this type of behaviour is OK, is the norm. So, I have to take full ownership for that and commit to change it.”

It is difficult to tell how much of an impact the tweets have had on the P.E.I. electorate. In Facebook and Twitter conversations, many defended King. Some criticized outlets like the CBC and The Guardian for focusing on King’s online comments, accusing the media outlets of pursuing the story out of partisan bias.

Allan McInnis, the mayor of Tignish, said he sympathized with King. But he also told The Guardian he was not a fan of a past tweet by King that related to his town.

The tweet, which was a reply to a November 2014 conversation, says “when you marry her she isn’t your cousin anymore #tignishrules.”

“I hope he wasn’t insinuating that we were in-bred or whatever. That wouldn’t go over well with me,” McInnis said.

McInnis added that he wasn’t sure whether the tweets would affect how he voted in the next election.

“I vote for the man that’s running in the district that I think is going to make the best of our district and take our district serious,” he said.

Stephanie Arnold, a grad student in her mid-30s, said she has voted PC in past provincial elections in P.E.I. She said she hasn’t written off King as a result of his comments. But she said she does not plan to vote PC in the coming election.

“The current changes in the political climate had prompted me to put more focus on character of the individual,” Arnold said.