Mummers brigade acts against member over slur

A Mummers brigade that itself stirred criticism for a New Year's Day act that made fun of transgender celebrity Caitlyn Jenner apologized Saturday for one of its members, who was caught on video yelling a profane slur about homosexuals.

"I find myself, as do many many members of Finnegan NYB, wholeheartedly apologizing for the abrasive, gross, and disturbing action of one of our members who, unfortunately, took it upon himself to embarrass us all with his conduct," Finnegan NYB captain Michael J. Inemer Sr. told Philly.com in an email. He said the club had banned the unnamed individual from all activities.

"He took it upon himself to put on a T-shirt that basically made him out of uniform from the rest of the brigade," Inemer wrote. "He was in NO way expressing the sentiments of our proud club."

The video, which showed an unidentified Finnegan NYB member yelling "F- the gays" as he marched along Broad Street on Friday, was taken by New York Daily News editor Nick Kurczewski.

The Goodtimers Comic Club joined Finnegan NYB in condemning the man's "hateful speech" and said he had been banned from both groups.

"The person will not be allowed to march with any other club," Inemer and Goodtimers president Joe D'Urso said in a joint statement. "As of this time, he is no longer considered a Mummer."

In addition, Inemer and D'Urso said the Finnegan NYB brigade would be "reaching out to the LGBT community and offering its services to help with an LGBT fund-raiser or equality awareness, and to learn more about LGBT concerns."

Finnegan NYB itself provoked concerns by focusing its act on Jenner, the former Olympian Bruce Jenner, who came out as transgender last year as she transitioned to a woman. According to NBC10, Finnegan NYB's performance for judges included a man dressed as Bruce Jenner changing into a woman's costume while Aerosmith's "Dude Looks Like a Lady" played in the background. They also held signs mocking Jenner that were described as "unacceptable" by Nellie Fitzpatrick, the city's director of LGBT Affairs.

"We understand that there will be obvious backlash for what we do as a skit, but that's all it was," a spokesperson wrote. "We are sorry for offending people out there, and don't want people to think we are against the gays, transsexuals, etc. We are not."

Mayor-elect Jim Kenney took issue with Finnegan NYB in a Twitter post, saying the brigade's actions were "bad" and "hurtful to many Philadelphians."

"Our trans citizens do not deserve this type of satire/insult," Kenney said.

Inemer refused to apologize for the skit, defending it as the type of parody that has enjoyed a long history within the Mummers Parade.

"If our skit was so 'out of line,' how come the parade judges themselves awarded us with 70 points and 14th place?" Inemer wrote. "This whole episode seems to point out that folks need to lighten up and stop taking themselves so seriously."

rtornoe@philly.com

215-854-5113 @RobTornoe