Candidate for Guelph council withdraws after screenshots of old online reviews surface

Thai Mac is running for Guelph City Council in Ward 1. (Instagram)

Thai Mac has unofficially withdrawn his candidacy from the Guelph municipal election after a wave of public criticism following the resurfacing of old comments linked to his Google account.

On Sept 8., Mac posted an update on his official campaign website that said he was announcing his withdrawal from the municipal campaign. He was seeking election for Ward 1 councillor for the City of Guelph.

“Recently, screenshots of some of my past Google Reviews from over a half a decade ago have surfaced. They may be viewed as offensive to the LGBTQ community. I apologize and recognize that they were distasteful and please know that's not the person I am today, as can be demonstrated and seen in our online community,” the announcement read in part. “Those who know me, and know our community well, know that I am supportive of, and have at times defended and promoted LGBTQ community events, threads and comments.”

Google reviews from Mac surfaced after an individual noticed he had connected his google reviews to his official campaign website.

The reviews, many of which were listed as being posted five years ago, included anti-LGTBQ comments and comments about gender-neutral items, according to screenshots posted by a Twitter user.

A screenshot of a comment posted 10 years ago about a store in Stone Road Mall reads: “Hit or miss on guys stuff. Lots of stuff for gays apparently. :(“

Another posted five years ago about the Outlet Collection at Niagara reads: “Good selection of stores. Just a little too many LGBT stores."

Another review posted five-years ago about Urban Planet said: “Wife likes the store but straight men take note, they don’t sell straight men’s clothing here. Only gender-neutral clothing.”

Another post linked to Bobby O’Briens in Guelph took aim at women, saying there was no music at the venue, but “Nice little skirts on the waitress.”

The twitter user who uncovered the comments said they were blocked by Mac within minutes of tagging him and uploading screenshots of the reviews.

Mac changed his Twitter account to private.

“Since I've announced my run for councillor, my family have been harassed and ridiculed. I have kept quiet on that front in pursuit of a positive campaign. But with the recent revelations, it has exponentially increased to threats of violence and even more hurtful comments that does not accurately reflect the person that I am,” a portion of Mac’s statement reads.