On his Los Angeles radio show Wednesday morning, Daly, 38, insinuated that gay passengers wouldn't have been able step in and remove the JetBlue pilot whose meltdown put the men, women, and children on his flight in danger.
"Most of them were on their way to some sort of security conference in Las Vegas...it was like a bunch of...well-trained dudes, thank God," Daly said. "With my luck, it would be like, 'This is the flight going to [the gay pride parade] in San Francisco...'Uh, we're headed down to Vegas for the floral convention.'"
A furious Hoagland fired back at Daly for his hurtful remarks. "Yes, [Mark] was known in our family for bringing me flowers on my birthday and Mother's Day," Hoagland wrote in a statement. "He also was known for careening down the rugby pitch, and, on the morning of September 11, 2001, for charging unarmed down the aisle of a doomed Boeing 757."
Continued Hoagland, "No one among his...team of fellow passengers was asking, 'Are you straight? Are you gay?'...The world has its share of strong, heroic gay men. Gay men in sports uniforms and military uniforms have been winning America's games and fighting America's battles for a long time: quietly, humbly, and in the face of vicious bigotry."
Responding to the public backlash, Daly issued a statement Thursday morning apologizing for his narrow-minded comments."We live in a time where gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals find courage every day to overcome adversity, stand up to bullying and find equality. I'm truly saddened that my words today suggested otherwise," the radio host wrote to GLAAD. "I've long been a supporter of Gay and Lesbian rights, and I'm saddened that my comments, however unintentional, offended anyone, specifically members of the LGBT community...I'm not that guy. I'm proud to be an ally of the LGBT community and will continue to fight with them."
