The Hill News

New York GOP gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino on Monday pushed back against criticism he received for making controversial statements about gay people over the weekend. 

In a speech to a group of orthodox Jewish rabbis this weekend, Paladino discussed his stance against gay marriage, but also said he does not want children "to be brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid or successful option. It isn't."

{mosads}Paladino appeared on NBC's "Today" show, CBS's "Early Show" and ABC's "Good Morning America" Monday to say that he is not homophobic and to place blame on the his Democratic opponent Andrew Cuomo and the press for putting him under the microscope. 

"You know, first [Cuomo] called me an anti-Semitic, now he wants to call me a homophobic," he said on ABC. "I'm not a homophobic. I have no reservations whatsoever about gays, except for marriage."

The Tea Party-backed GOP nominee also said he would have no problem hiri! ng gays and lesbians to work in his administration.

Paladino's comments about homosexuality are not the first statements he made that got him into hot water.

The Buffalo real estate developer found himself in trouble after it was revealed he forwarded e-mails containing racial jokes and sexually explicit material to associates. 

He also got into a shouting match with a reporter after he accused Cuomo of having an extramarital affair during his 13-year marriage to Kerry Kennedy.

Paladino was also pressed on the "Early Show" about fathering a child out of wedlock.

"I did apologize for that omission in my life, and that recklessness," he said.

With regard to his most recent comments, Paladino said he was talking about Cuomo's comment that he brought his children to a gay pride parade, which he said was an inappropriate decision. 

"I don't think it's proper for them to go there and watch a couple of grown men grind against each other," he said on the "Today" show, adding that he thinks "it's disgusting."

Paladino was also pressed about a line in his prepared remarks that he did not recite in his speech to the rabbis. It said that "there is nothing to be proud of in being a dysfunctional homosexual."

The GOP nominee said that "I saw that remark and I crossed it out on my sheets," suggesting that an aide had inserted the phrase after he dictated general remarks to him.

Paladino again to aim at the press for his latest controversy, saying that there is a double-standard against him.

"The press does not hold Cuomo to the same standar! ds that they hold me," he said.