A startling tape from a Los Angeles Municipal Council meeting in October 2021 shows Council President Nury Martinez repeatedly referring to colleagues, other city officials, and even the infant of one of her fellow councilmembers in derogatory terms that are unpleasant and racist.
She labeled Council member Mike Bonin “a bitch,” a supervisor’s youngster she called “a little monkey,” and County District Attorney George Gascón “F*** that guy.” I don’t like Gascón or Bonin, but this is awful stuff. He’s with the Blacks.
This is unbelievable: LA City Council President Nury Martinez was recorded calling a fellow councilmember's 2 year-old Black son "a little monkey" and said she wanted to give him a "beat-down." She said this about a TWO YEAR OLD. @CD6Nury must resign. https://t.co/RPlwBNyxaN pic.twitter.com/vs1nKGzkr0
— Adam Conover (@adamconover) October 9, 2022
At this time, it is unclear who released the recording.
An individual who has since been suspended released the conversation’s lengthy audio on Reddit. Who made the audio recording, who posted it to Reddit, and whether anyone else was present are all unknown.
L.A. Councilman Kevin de León breaks his silence on his recorded convo with Council President Nury Martinez & crew, saying he "fell short of the expectations we set for our leaders" pic.twitter.com/esnjDmDPSR
— David Zahniser 🦅 (@DavidZahniser) October 9, 2022
On their website, it is stated that, barring any provisions to the contrary in the Charter, the City Council is the governing body of the City and that the Mayor has the power to approve or veto all ordinances. It doesn’t seem like it’s part of their job description to degrade others.
Even worse, it appeared that other council members had also lost their filter. Kevin de León, a councilman, compared Bonin’s parenting to Martinez holding a Louis Vuitton handbag and referred to Bonin as the fourth Black member of the council. White is Bonin.
According to Martinez, Bonin made an appearance beside his son on a float at the Martin Luther King Jr. Daytime procession that included several politicians. Additionally, she called the kid “an accessory.”
De León made an apparent comparison between Bonin’s treatment of the youngster and “when Nury brings her little yard bag or the Louis Vuitton bag” in his statement.
Martinez said, using a diminutive term for a Black person that some may find derogatory in Spanish, “Su negrito, like on the side.” If Martinez and the other ladies on the float hadn’t intervened to “parent this kid,” Martinez claimed the child was misbehaving on the float and might have tipped it over.
Our family statement about today's ugly and hateful news. pic.twitter.com/0fPPXwsS5B
— Mike Bonin (@mikebonin) October 9, 2022
“They’re raising him like a little white kid. I was like, this kid needs a beatdown. Let me take him around the corner and then I’ll bring him back.”