A local DJ in Sydney, Nova Scotia is apologizing after he made offensive comments online about a beloved amateur weatherman with autism.
On Sunday night, Gary Boudreau – who is also known as DJ Gary B – posted several Facebook comments insulting well-known YouTube weather personality Frankie MacDonald.
Among them, he wrote “That’s the face of our island!! It needs to stop… He’s making Cape Breton look like ****” and “Legit someone murder me if I ever… represent Cape Breton like this.”
The next day, Boudreau expressed disbelief at his own actions.
“I started crying,” he told CTV Atlantic on Monday. “I couldn’t believe that that was actually me that made comments like that. That’s honestly not how I feel.”
Boudreau said he takes full responsibility for what he wrote on the social networking site.
“I have an alcohol problem,” he explained. “I'm going to be doing what I can this week, as soon as possible, to get the help I need for that.”
MacDonald said he saw the comments after he left a local hockey game on Sunday night. Despite their mean nature, the local celebrity said he wasn’t going to let the insults bother him.
“He has nothing better to do,” MacDonald said on Monday. “I ignored them. I ignore all negative comments.”
Even though the popular YouTube personality was able to shrug off the comments, many of his fans appeared unwilling to let the remarks slide.
In the hours after Boudreau’s posts, social media lit up with comments from hundreds of supporters rallying to defend MacDonald and condemn the DJ’s unkind words.
Despite the outcry, Boudreau said he’s focused on asking MacDonald for his forgiveness. The two men have met each other on several previous occasions at Boudreau’s shows.
“Frankie’s probably going to see this,” he said. “So, Frankie, I am very honestly and truly sorry, man. I didn’t mean any of that. You’re a great guy and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”
In response, MacDonald said there are “no hard feelings” between them.
“He’s a great guy. I met him before. He got his picture taken with me in 2013,” he said.
To show their support for MacDonald, several members of the community have organized an upcoming night out at a Sydney bar the amateur weatherman is known to frequent.
