Ed Koch's "Outrage"
Ex-mayor angry over documentary's claim he did nothing for gay community
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How's he doin'? He's pissed.
Former mayor Ed Koch seems unfazed by claims in a new documentary that he's gay, but he is furious over the film's assertion that he did nothing for the gay community.
"It's a [bleep]ing outrage," Koch told Page Six in response to "Outrage," the new documentary from Kirby Dick about allegedly closeted politicians. "Bella Abzug and I, in the early '70s, introduced in Congress a bill that would outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation."
"In 1984, I was the first mayor to march in the Gay Pride Parade. I was the first mayor to appoint openly gay judges . . ."
All true.
Yet both Randy Shilts, author of "And the Band Played On," and activist Larry Kramer have accused Koch of turning a blind eye to the spread of AIDS for fear that it would legitimize the rumors that he himself was a homosexual.
Dick's film, which also targets Florida Governor Charlie Christ, claims that Koch had a romance with Dick Nathan while serving in Congress, but that Koch called it off in preparation for his run for mayor in 1977.
Koch campaigned that year with former Miss America Bess Myerson at his side. But not even the presence of a beauty queen on his arm could stop people from hanging posters around the city that read, "Vote for Cuomo, Not the Homo."
"Dick Nathan was a fine guy. We were friends," Koch said. But Koch says their friendship soured when he passed Nathan over for a position in his administration. "He [Nathan] got mad and left town," Koch said.
Despite decades of speculation, New York never really seemed to care who Koch was sleeping with. But the ex-mayor has done nothing to quell the rumors with his refusal to even deny them.
"Are you married?" he'll typically ask when questioned. If the answer is yes, he'll come back with, "When was the last time you committed oral sex on your spouse? Don't answer that. It's no one's business."
He's right, of course, but if you've "committed oral sex," you're probably doing it wrong.
