New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, a Democrat, was caught making an obscene hand gesture during a parade event in the city on Saturday ahead of this week’s Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras celebrations.
During the Krewe of Tucks parade, Cantrell was captured on video outside the city’s historic Gallier Hall at a viewing stand speaking into a microphone and giving a raised middle finger to what appears to be people on one of the passing floats.
“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 can be heard saying in the video, immediately before making the gesture.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. (Peter Forest/Getty Images)
It’s unclear why Cantrell made the gesture. Her communications director Gregory Joseph told local Fox outlet WVUE that it was intended to be playful.
“Mardi Gras is a time where satire and jest are on full display,” he said. “The City has been enjoying a safe and healthy Carnival and is looking forward continuing the celebration on Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Cantrell’s office for comment but didn’t immediately receive a response.
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A marching troupe participates in the 2023 Krewe of Tucks parade on February 18, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana. ( Erika Goldring/Getty Images)
Cantrell has already been under scrutiny in recent weeks after being accused of having an affair with a police officer formerly assigned to her. The officer was removed from his position on her detail following the discovery of irregularities in his pay.
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.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell arrived by horseback at the reviewing stand at Gallier Hall in 2022. (Michael DeMocker/Getty Images)
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WVUE and WDSU, another local outlet, independently verified that the unnamed woman in the petition was indeed the mayor.
