Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló
is rejecting calls to step down over homophobic and misogynistic
comments.
On Saturday, the Center for
Investigative Journalism in Puerto Rico published 889 pages of
messages between Rosselló and several members of his administration
on Telegram, a messaging app with encryption options.
According to Puerto Rican daily El
Nuevo Dia, Rosselló twice in December of 2018 separately
described a journalist and a former senator as a “cocksucker.” He
also described a former New York City lawmaker who was born in Puerto
Rico as a “whore.”
Puerto Rico CFO Christian Sobrino
criticized out singer Ricky Martin, who was born in Puerto Rico.
Martin “is such a male chauvinist that he fucks men because women
don't measure up,” Sobrino wrote in a message.
The chat also includes derogatory
comments against San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, a vocal supporter
of LGBT rights and a fierce critic of President Donald Trump, and out
CBS journalist David Begnaud.
In a statement released Saturday,
Rosselló said that Sobrino and Puerto Rico Secretary of State Luis
G. Rivera Marín had
resigned and that he would ask other members of his administration
who took part in the chat to also resign.
Calls for Rosselló – who has
supported LGBT rights in the past – to quit gathered steam over the
weekend, with some activists protesting outside his official
residence in San Juan.
On Sunday, Rosselló said that he would
not step down.