Out NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson had already demanded an apology after Ruben Diaz Sr., a longtime homophobe and anti-equality activist, attacked Johnson for being gay and claimed that the City Council is “controlled by the homosexual community.”

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From one Speaker to another, THANK YOU Speaker @cheastie for fighting for New Yorkers in Albany. Today I was up in the Capitol delivering testimony about the @NYCCouncil's priorities for and thoughts on the State's budget process.

A post shared by Corey Johnson (@speakercoreyjohnson) on Feb 11, 2019 at 2:13pm PST

Diaz told a Spanish-language radio show over the weekend: “When I get to the City Council, I find that the City Council is controlled — most council members out of 51 council members — over there, everybody is controlled by the homosexual community.” Diaz also told the show that Johnson, who is gay and single, “is a homosexual who is married to another man,” NY1 reported.

Yesterday Johnson said that Diaz Sr. should step down for making an inflammatory remark about the gay community, Page Six reported. “I think he should resign. It's not up to me, but I think what he said is totally unacceptable,” Johnson said during a press briefing in Albany where he and NYS State Assembly speaker Carl E. Heastie claimed to have come to a city budget agreement with the state.

Earlier this month Johnson announced his intention to explore a run for mayor in NYC.

Governor Andrew Cuomo said the councilman [Diaz] deserves to be punished for his “outrageous” statement. “If he should be sanctioned… I think it would be justified. But it's up to Corey Johnson,” Cuomo said.

Photo above: Johnson and Speaker of the Assembly Carl E. Heastie.