10 Troubling Rob Ford Moments That Suggest He Should Be in Rehab, Not the Mayor's Office

Impact

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is Canada's Silvio Burlesconi. Both men are powerful political figures who also happen to be old, balding, perverted, and have an ego the size of the state of Nebraska. Ford's crack cocaine moment is basically Burlesconi's underage Moroccan call-girl. It might just land him in so much trouble that it could bring his controversial political reign to an end. He's pulled so much crap in the past that it's hard to keep count.

Most recently, a video of Ford allegedly smoking crack while calling Canadian Liberal leader Justin Trudeau a "f-g" and referring to the members of the football team he coaches as "f-cking minorities" emerged:

Think that's bad? Imagine it can't get worse? Wrong. Here's a list of the 10 worst Ford moments in no specific order, because they are equally outrageous.

1. He Thinks It's Still Cool To Call Asian Immigrants Orientals

During a council debate in 2008, he talked about hard-working immigrants from Asia. "Those Oriental people work like dogs … They're slowly taking over," he said.

2. To Say That He's a Reckless Driver is an Understatement

The picture above was tweeted by someone who caught him doing 70km/hr in his Cadillac Escalade on the very busy Gardiner Expressway while appearing to be fully concentrated on reading a document. The mayor has also been accused of giving the finger to a mother accompanied by her daughter while she was driving in downtown Toronto.

3. He Thinks Fighting AIDs Doesn't Matter

In 2006 Ford explained why taxpayers shouldn't be concerned with AIDS, generally. "If you are not doing needles and you are not gay, you wouldn't get AIDS probably, that's bottom line...those are the facts." 

4. He's Against Bike Paths

"What I compare bike lanes to is swimming with the sharks. Sooner or later, you're going to get bitten. And every year we have dozens of people that get hit by cars or trucks. Well, no wonder. Roads are built for buses, cars and trucks. Not for people on bikes. And my heart bleeds for them when I hear someone gets killed, but it's their own fault at the end of the day."

5. He Was Kicked Out Of a Hockey Game For Being Too Drunk

In 2006, he was kicked out of Maple Leafs Game for being too intoxicated and belligerent. When an out-of-town couple asked him to stop yelling, he told the man "Who the f*ck do you think you are? Are you a f*cking teacher?" When the man didn't answer, he said "Do you want your little wife to go over to Iran and get raped and shot?" The couple didn't know he was a city councillor... until he left a business card behind.

6. He Was Also Kicked Out Of a Military Ball For Being Too Drunk.

In March, Ford was asked to leave the Toronto Garrison Ball, an event attended by 800 soldiers, sailors, air force personnel, and civilians, because he was completely wasted.

7. He's Been Involved in an Ass-Gate Scandal

Sarah Thomson, Rob Ford's former mayoral rival, reports that during an event in March, he grabbed her butt and suggested they should have sex.  She told reporters that she believed he was under the influence of cocaine.

8. Once, He Called 911 Because a Comedian Wanted to Interview Him

When Mary Walsh from This Hour 22 Minutes, a satire news show, showed up at his house to ask for an interview, he called 911. He also pleasantly swore at the operator.

9. He Boycotts Anything LGBT

He's repeatedly refused to attend any gay pride events in Toronto, including the annual parade. When asked to fund a video project about homosexuality in 2001 about South Asian LGBT youth living in Toronto, he said:

"I have no problem giving money out to physically or mentally handicapped children or seniors, but spending $5,000 on this video is disgusting, it is absolutely disgusting to spend this amount of money on this, whatever it was called, video."

He's also questioned the need for programs helping transgendered and transsexual people. "I don't understand. No. 1, I don't understand a trans-gender, I don't understand, is it a guy dressed up like a girl or a girl dressed up like a guy? And we're funding this for, I don't know, what does it say here? We're giving them $3,210?" he said during a council debate.

10. His Niece Told Women to Stop Dressing Like Whores to Avoid Rape

Although Rob Ford has definitely made a reputation for himself as a misogynist by saying that he will "explain how politics works to women" on his radio show, his niece outdid him last summer. After a series of brutal sexual assaults in Toronto, she helpfully tweeted:

"Stay alert, walk tall, carry mace, take self-defence classes & don’t dress like a whore. #DontBeAVictim #StreetSmart"

11. As a Bonus: This Also Happened

Special thanks to our special Toronto research crew for contributing to this report: Miguel Sanchez, Warren Cass, and Chris Lewarne.