A Michigan mayor is under fire after being accused of calling African-Americans “chimps” on audio and older women “dried up c-nts.”
Since the recordings were released, the Detroit Free Press reports, a former adviser to mayor Jim Fouts who is named Joe DiSano alleged that “he has sat in meetings in which Fouts used the N-word and once saw him ‘dance around like he was a monkey’ while referencing black Detroiters.”
You can listen to some of the audio above and below. It was obtained by Motor City Muckraker, a local blog. Be aware that some of the language is very graphic. The mayor has alleged that political opponents faked the tapes, and he says he’s not on them, reported Raw Story.
“They are p-ssies when they are young,” the voice on one of the recordings says of older women. “And when they get older, they’re just mean, hateful dried-up c-nts.”
Listen:
According to CBS Detroit, a month before, other tapes emerged that showed the mayor “allegedly making derogatory remarks about mentally handicapped people.”
Fouts is refusing to resign and wrote on Facebook that he is the subject of an unfair political attack to undo his election. He is the mayor of Warren, Michigan. Fouts wrote on Facebook:
There is tremendous effort to force me out immediately by slander, by character assassination, lies, and by out right condemnation of me. This is an attempt to reverse the 2015 election results when I won with 85% of the vote. I won with 81% in 2011. This is despite solid evidence that I did nothing wrong whatsoever. My actions as Mayor have been inclusive and no one can deny that. We are the best run city in the state when it comes to police, fire, and fund balance. I will not resign. I will be here through at least 2019 as the people wanted me to. I will not capitulate to a rush to judgement by those who wish to take over city hall and hijack the 2015 election. Why? – Because I have changed things for the better in the city. I serve the citizens 24/7 and they know it. I’m not answerable to any politician I’m only answerable to the people of Warren. I serve the interests of the people of Warren not the politicians. I will continue to push for diversity in employment in Warren and that is why I hired Greg Murray as Diversity Coordinator.
The person on the recording says, “Blacks do look like chimpanzees. I was watching this black woman with her daughter and they looked like two chimps.” He’s also accused of being the person who says on a recording, “Think I want to date a f-cking 60-year-old hag? F-ck that sh-t. I’m not interested in any old ugly hag. I think after a certain age they are dried up, washed up, burned out.” He’s also accused of saying on audio, “They are pussies when they are young. And when they get older, they’re just mean, hateful dried-up c-nts.”
At an MLK event, protesters confronted Fouts and called him a “devil” and racist. Rev. W.J. Rideout III of All God’s People Church demanded he resign, the Detroit Free Press reported. According to the newspaper, it is not clear how the blog obtained the recordings or when they were made. The blog is run by a former Free Press reporter named Steve Neavling, the newspaper reported. A group of Michigan leaders is also calling for the mayor’s resignation.