Subscribe Login
Jamaica Observer
ePaper
The Edge 105 FM Radio Fyah 105 FM
Jamaica Observer
ePaper
The Edge 105 FM Radio Fyah 105 FM
    • Home
    • News
      • Latest News
      • Cartoon
      • International News
      • Central
      • North & East
      • Western
      • Environment
      • Health
      • #
    • Business
      • Business Bites
      • Social Love
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Basketball
      • Cricket
      • Horse Racing
      • World Champs
      • Commonwealth Games
      • FIFA World Cup
      • Olympics
      • #
    • Videos
    • Entertainment
      • Music
      • Movies
      • Art & Culture
      • Bookends
      • #
    • Lifestyle
      • Page2
      • Food
      • Tuesday Style
      • Food Awards
      • JOL Takes Style Out
      • Design Week JA
      • Black Friday
      • #
    • All Woman
      • Home
      • Relationships
      • Features
      • Fashion
      • Fitness
      • Rights
      • Parenting
      • Advice
      • #
    • Obits
    • Classifieds
      • Employment
      • Property
      • Motor Vehicles
      • Place an Ad
      • Obituaries
    • More
      • Games
      • Elections
      • Jobs & Careers
      • Study Centre
      • Jnr Study Centre
      • Letters
      • Columns
      • Advertorial
      • Editorial
      • Supplements
      • Webinars
    • Home
    • News
      • Latest News
      • Cartoon
      • International News
      • Central
      • North & East
      • Western
      • Environment
      • Health
      • #
    • Business
      • Business Bites
      • Social Love
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Basketball
      • Cricket
      • Horse Racing
      • World Champs
      • Commonwealth Games
      • FIFA World Cup
      • Olympics
      • #
    • Videos
    • Entertainment
      • Music
      • Movies
      • Art & Culture
      • Bookends
      • #
    • Lifestyle
      • Page2
      • Food
      • Tuesday Style
      • Food Awards
      • JOL Takes Style Out
      • Design Week JA
      • Black Friday
      • #
    • All Woman
      • Home
      • Relationships
      • Features
      • Fashion
      • Fitness
      • Rights
      • Parenting
      • Advice
      • #
    • Obits
    • Classifieds
      • Employment
      • Property
      • Motor Vehicles
      • Place an Ad
      • Obituaries
    • More
      • Games
      • Elections
      • Jobs & Careers
      • Study Centre
      • Jnr Study Centre
      • Letters
      • Columns
      • Advertorial
      • Editorial
      • Supplements
      • Webinars
  • Home
  • News
    • International News
  • Latest
  • Business
    • Business Bites
  • Cartoon
  • Games
  • Food Awards
  • Health
  • Entertainment
    • Bookends
  • Regional
  • Sports
    • Sports
    • World Cup
    • World Champs
    • Olympics
  • Videos
  • Career & Education
  • Classifieds
  • All Woman
  • Environment
  • Webinars
  • More
    • Football
    • Elections
    • Letters
    • Advertorial
    • Columns
    • Editorial
    • Supplements
  • Epaper
  • Design Week
Embattled Toronto mayor attempts Jamaican accent in new video
FILE - In this Tuesday Dec. 10 2013, file photo, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford attends a news conference at City Hall in Toronto. A new video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford emerged Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014, that shows him swearing and slurring his words while apparently trying to imitate a Jamaican accent. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press Chris Young, File)
News
January 20, 2014

Embattled Toronto mayor attempts Jamaican accent in new video

TORONTO (AP) — A new video of Mayor Rob Ford emerged Tuesday that shows him swearing and slurring his words while apparently trying to imitate a Jamaican accent.

In the video — one of two new ones that have been posted on YouTube — Ford is shown in a fast food restaurant rambling and talking about police surveillance and calling police chief Bill Blair a derogatory name.

Ford, who said in November that he quit drinking, said outside his office Tuesday that he drank on Monday night “a little bit” and acknowledged it was him in the video. When asked if he also did drugs, Ford said no.

“I was with some friends and what I do in my personal life with my personal friends, that’s up to me,” Ford said. “It really has nothing to do with you guys.”

Ford said he did not think the language he used was offensive or discriminatory.

“It’s how I speak with some of my friends,” he said.

The video is titled “New Video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Drunk, Swearing in Jamaican Patois? B****t.”

“Chase me around for five months,” the mayor says in the video.

“Leave me alone and then try and tell me, we’re counter-surveilling the guy. He’s hiding here, I’m hiding here. Oh, we don’t know?” he says before rambling incoherently.

Mark Pugush, a spokesman for Police Chief Blair, said they don’t respond to personal attacks.

A second video of Ford posted on YouTube and from inside the same restaurant, appears to show Ford sitting with his friend and former driver Alexander Lisi. Lisi faces trial on drug and extortion charges after police started an investigation into the mayor. It was not immediately clear if the video was also shot Monday night.

Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly, who assumed some of the mayor’s powers after the City Council stripped Ford of many of his duties year, urged Ford to seek professional help.

“He’s got to do a lot of soul-searching in the next few days,” Kelly said.

Ford said in November that he was finished with drinking alcohol after having a “come to Jesus moment.” He snapped at reporters and denied he was drinking after pictures emerged last week of him at a night club.

Ford vowed in November that the public would never see a tape of him intoxicated again. He said he was working out and the mayor noticeably lost weight. He put his name on the ballot to run for another term earlier this month.

Ford acknowledged last year that he smoked crack “in one of my drunken stupors” after police said they obtained a copy of a tape that appears to show him smoking crack. He refused to resign.

The City Council stripped Ford of most of his powers but lacked the authority to force him out because he wasn’t convicted of a crime. The mayor was the subject of a police investigation but was never charged. According to police interviews, staffers accused Ford of frequently drinking.

City councilor Joe Mihevc said the latest tape appears to show that Ford has not stopped drinking and continues to be an embarrassment to the city of Toronto.

City Councilor Michael Thompson, who is black, said he was shocked. “Is that the mayor speaking Jamaican? Wow,” Thompson said when reporters showed him the video. “I’m numb.”

Thompson said the mayor’s interpretation of “supposedly being Jamaican” was offensive. He called it a sad day and said the mayor needs to seek help.

“We’ve been fairly silent in just waiting for the next thing to occur,” Thompson said. “I think we all had sort of concluded it was only a matter of time.”

City councilor Denzil Minnan-Wong said Ford had been doing well lately but said this is clearly a setback for him. “It looks like he’s fallen off the wagon,” Minnan-Wong said.

{"website":"website"}{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
0 Comments · Make a comment

ALSO ON JAMAICA OBSERVER

Teen charged for setting 31-y-o man on fire during Denham Town protest
Latest News, News
Teen charged for setting 31-y-o man on fire during Denham Town protest
October 1, 2026
KINGSTON, Jamaica — A 16-year-old student has been charged for setting a man on fire during a protest at the intersection of Nelson and Metcalf street...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Judge denies acquittal bid by US woman who killed her kids
International News, Latest News
Judge denies acquittal bid by US woman who killed her kids
October 1, 2026
NEW YORK, United States (AFP)—A judge on Thursday denied an acquittal request by an American mother accused of murdering her three children, a court f...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
‘A me kill Taneka’: Detective testifies Ruddock confessed to Pathways killing
Latest News, News
‘A me kill Taneka’: Detective testifies Ruddock confessed to Pathways killing
BY JASON CROSS Observer staff reporter crossj@jamaicaobserver.com 
October 1, 2026
A detective constable a few moments ago testified that murder accused Andre Ruddock confessed to him that he killed 39-year-old Taneka Gardner at the ...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Former Dallas cop who killed St Lucian Botham Jean granted parole
International News, Latest News, Regional
Former Dallas cop who killed St Lucian Botham Jean granted parole
October 1, 2026
DALLAS, United States (CMC) – Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger, who was convicted of murdering St Lucian-born accountant Botham Jean in his a...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Former Barbadian bank CEO fined for money laundering offence
Latest News, Regional
Former Barbadian bank CEO fined for money laundering offence
October 1, 2026
NEW YORK, United States (CMC) – Former Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited (ICBL) chief executive officer Ingrid Innes has been fined US$7,000 a...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
US tells European allies to ‘immediately’ act to lower diesel prices
Latest News, News
US tells European allies to ‘immediately’ act to lower diesel prices
October 1, 2026
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States (US) on Thursday told its European allies to help lower global diesel prices by releasing strategi...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
51 years, countless legends: Ardie ‘Cuban’ Wallace tells his story in new book
Entertainment, Latest News
51 years, countless legends: Ardie ‘Cuban’ Wallace tells his story in new book
October 1, 2026
Known in music circles for chomping on a signature Fidel Castro cigar, Ardie “Cuban” Wallace is one of the most popular Jamaicans in Connecticut. For ...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
KSAMC declares four Kingston locations sterile areas for outdoor advertising
Latest News, News
KSAMC declares four Kingston locations sterile areas for outdoor advertising
October 1, 2026
KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) has announced that no approvals will be granted for billboards or other f...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
❮ ❯

Polls

HOUSE RULES

  1. We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper; email addresses will not be published.
  2. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.
  3. We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion.
  4. Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read.
  5. Please don't use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed: advertising@jamaicaobserver.com.
  6. If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email: community@jamaicaobserver.com.
  7. Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

Recent Posts

Archives

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Tweets

Polls

Recent Posts

Archives

Logo Jamaica Observer
Breaking news from the premier Jamaican newspaper, the Jamaica Observer. Follow Jamaican news online for free and stay informed on what's happening in the Caribbean
Featured Tags
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Health
  • Auto
  • Business
  • Letters
  • Page2
  • Football
Categories
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Page2
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Page2
Ads
img
Jamaica Observer, © All Rights Reserved
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • RSS Feeds
  • Feedback
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Code of Conduct