Georgia GOP Rep. Jason Spencer Refuses To Resign After ‘Who Is America?’ Scandal

Georgia State Representative Jason Spencer has apologized for his offensive words and behavior on an episode of Sacha Baron Cohen‘s TV series Who Is America? but refuses to resign from his seat. There has been vocal outcry both from the public and Spencer’s fellow Republican colleagues following what Spencer refers to as a “ridiculously ugly episode.”

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Georgia House Speaker David Ralston released a statement condemning Spencer’s behavior on the TV show, “The actions and language used on this video are reprehensible. Representative Spencer has disgraced himself and should resign immediately. Georgia is better than this.” Gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp issued his own statement, “Rep. Spencer’s words and behavior are hurtful, insensitive and completely unacceptable. At the very least, he should issue a public apology for this shameful incident.” He removed Spencer from his endorsements list.

Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, Kemp’s election run-off opponent, condemned Spencer’s actions in a tweet:

Jason Spencer is a disgrace to Georgia and should resign his elected office immediately. While I’m glad he never supported our campaign and actually actively opposed us, I think it speaks to the judgment of our voters that he was overwhelmingly defeated earlier this year.

— Casey Cagle (@CaseyCagle) July 23, 2018

The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations have also called for Spencer’s resignation. According to The Guardian, the chapter’s director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said, “The ignorance and malice behind Islamophobia has led Mr. Spencer to not only pursue bad policy, but engage in hateful and humiliating behavior unbecoming of anyone — especially a state legislator.” The chapter also called on Democratic and Republican leaders in Georgia to insist on Spencer’s immediate resignation.

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While Spencer apologized for his behavior, he still placed a large deal of blame on Baron Cohen and Showtime. Spencer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the show “exploited” his deep-seated fears of attack “for profit and notoriety.” He also told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “I recently lost my primary election, so I will not be eligible to hold office next term. Therefore, I will finish the remaining five months of my post and vacate my seat.” The rest of Spencer’s term will likely not be easy on him considering the controversy of the last few days.