Hotel owner Ian Reisner has apologized for what he termed "poor judgment" when he hosted an event for Sen. Ted Cruz in his home,
The New York Times reports.
Gay groups have called for boycotts of Reisner's properties over Cruz's opposition to same-sex marriage. Reisner said in his apology that he had not been aware of Cruz's position, but shared his support for Israel.
Reisner's apology was posted on
Facebook.
I am shaken to my bones by the e-mails, texts, postings and phone calls of the past few days. I made a terrible mistake....
Posted by Ian Reisner on Sunday, April 26, 2015
A page on the social media site
calling for boycotts of his OUT NYC hotel and Fire Island Pines holdings received more than 8,300 "likes" by Sunday evening, the Times reported.
"I am shaken to my bones by the emails, texts, postings and phone calls of the past few days. I made a terrible mistake," Reisner wrote.
The event was held April 20 at a duplex owned by Reisner and his business partner, Mati Weiderpass, in Central Park South in Manhattan. It was described as a "fireside chat," and not a fundraiser.
Reisner has been outspoken in support of gay marriage and also is a staunch supporter of Israel.
Cruz faced criticism from some conservatives over the event, but not nearly as much as Reisner and Weiderpass did from the gay community, the Times noted.
"I was ignorant, naive and much too quick in accepting a request to co-host a dinner with Cruz at my home without taking the time to completely understand all of his positions on gay rights," Reisner said. "I’ve spent the past 24 hours reviewing videos of Cruz’ statements on gay marriage and I am shocked and angry. I sincerely apologize for hurting the gay community and so many of our friends, family, allies, customers and employees."
Not everyone was buying the apology, with one commenter saying, "You KNEW his positions or you wouldn't have invited him. You get involved with radical extreme politics and then play ignorant."
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