Democratic New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell is once again under fire after she was captured flipping the middle finger at a Mardi Gras celebration over the weekend.
Cantrell did the obscene gesture at the Krewe of Tucks parade outside New Orleans’ historic Gallier Hall. In a video posted on Instagram, the mayor appeared to have raised her middle finger to people on one of the parade floats.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell Caught Flipping Middle Finger at Mardi Gras Parade
— Hawaii 5-0 (@hawaii_js) February 22, 2023
Mayor 🍕💩 https://t.co/374hCyP9fr
“We love you. God bless you. I’ll see you. Happy Mardi Gras. Enjoy the ride. So glad your ride was good. Love you,” Cantrell said before as she flipped them off.
In Cantrell’s defense, her communication director Gregory Joseph said that the mayor intended the gesture to be playful with the attendees.
“Mardi Gras is a time where satire and jest are on full display,” Joseph said. “The City has been enjoying a safe and healthy Carnival and is looking forward continuing the celebration on Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras.”
This comes as Cantrell is already in hot water after the extravagant lifestyle she has built for herself on taxpayer money has come to light thanks to a petition started by Eileen Carter and Belden Batiste, a former Democrat mayoral candidate.
In January, it was reported that the Democratic mayor flew first class to Washington, D.C., for $2,300; in March, she flew first class to Miami for $2,800; in June, she traveled to Switzerland first class for $9,800; and in July, she took a first-class trip to France for $17,000.
Cantrell defended her costly, sky-high flights in a statement, saying that her “travel accommodations are a matter of safety, not luxury.”
“As all women know, our health and safety are often disregarded, and we are left to navigate alone,” the statement read at the time. “Anyone who wants to question how I protect myself just doesn’t understand the world Black women walk in.”
And most recently, Cantrell was “accused of having an affair with a police officer formerly assigned to her,” according to Fox News.
“The officer was removed from his position on her detail following the discovery of irregularities in his pay,” Fox News reported. “Cantrell denied the allegations, attributed them to sexism, and claimed they wouldn’t have been made if she were a man. The officer’s wife, however, claimed in a divorce petition that her husband admitted to the affair.”
