A virulently anti-gay member of the Toronto School Board was left speechless when he was publicly called out on his views by a reporter last week.
Sam Sotiropoulos has regularly used Twitter to make his homophobic views known. He tweeted that the 2014 Toronto Pride Parade was a “freak show,” and that he doesn’t believe transgender people exist.
But Sotiropoulos was uncharacteristically silent when a Global News reporter asked him about his offensive tweets.
Sotiropoulos agreed to be interviewed by reporter Christina Stevens about his views on transgender people, but he instead talked in circles to avoid answering the question.
When Stevens pressed him for an answer, he said: “I reserve the right to form an opinion.”
Stevens then asked about the homophobic tweets Sotiropoulos wrote, but he claimed he couldn’t recall ever calling the Pride Parade a “freak show,” despite it being a direct quote from his Twitter feed.
Finally, Stevens read aloud a tweet Sotiropoulos sent calling “homosexism” one of the most divisive issues in Canada. He turned away from the camera and refused to speak.
“Care to elaborate?” asked Stevens.
Silence.
“We can stand here all day,” she said. “If this is your belief, I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to clarify it for people and stand behind it?”
After again talking in circles and then standing in another awkward silence, Sotiropoulous stalked out of the interview.