Here’s what you need to know about the Los Angeles City Council controversy

Leaked audio of three Los Angeles City Council members and a local union leader making controversial and racist remarks created a firestorm in the California city this week.

The controversy led to the resignation on Monday of L.A. City Council President Nury Martinez, who was caught on the tapes making widely criticized racist remarks about African Americans and other ethnic groups.

On Monday night, L.A. County Labor Federation President Ron Herrera also resigned from his job after criticism he faced over comments in the leaked audio, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Here’s everything you need to know about the scandal.

Martinez made the most criticized remarks

During a private October 2021 meeting, Martinez, Herrera and city council members Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León discussed a wide variety of topics.

When discussing L.A. District Attorney George Gascón, Martinez can be heard saying, “F— that guy, he’s with the Blacks.”

Martinez also made a racist remark about the Black son of Mike Bonin, a white council member.

“And then there’s this white guy, with his little Black kid, who’s misbehaved,” Martinez said. She proceeded to say the child looks “like a little monkey” in Spanish. “They’re raising him like a little white kid, which, I was like, this kid needs a beatdown.”

Martinez later said “Bonin thinks he’s f—— Black” and made other offensive remarks about a Hispanic Koreatown neighborhood, calling its residents “short, dark people.”

The group also discussed Black political power and how to favorably redistrict so the participants of the conversation could stay in office.

The leaked audio led to widespread condemnation

The audio originally leaked on Reddit over the weekend before it was taken down. The Los Angeles Times first reported on the tapes.

Outraged protesters marched toward Martinez’s home on Sunday and demanded she immediately resign from her post, while local, state and national leaders all condemned the remarks.

Bonin released a statement calling for Martinez, Herrera and de León to resign from their positions while he expressed disapproval that Cedillo had a “tacit” acceptance of the remarks.

“We are appalled, angry and absolutely disgusted that Nury Martinez attacked our son with horrific racist slurs, and talked about her desire to physically harm him,” Bonin said. “It’s vile, abhorrent, and utterly disgraceful.”

Bonin added that his son was three years old at the time he was apparently misbehaving during a 2017 parade referenced by Martinez.

“It hurts that one of our son’s earliest encounters with overt racism comes from some of the most powerful public officials in Los Angeles,” Bonin said in his statement.

The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials also called for Martinez, who is Latina, to resign, while L.A. Police Chief Michel Moore said it was a “dark day for our City of Angels.”

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) also condemned the remarks and called for all three council members to resign.

“As a father, I am offended that an innocent child was a target of these remarks,” Padilla said in a statement. “At a time when our nation is grappling with a rise in hate speech and hate crimes, these racist comments have deepened the pain that our communities have endured. Los Angeles deserves better.”

Council members quickly apologized

In statements to several news outlets, all three council members swiftly apologized for the controversial discussion.

Martinez said later in a resignation statement that she was “ashamed” and “sorry” for what she said.

“As someone who believes deeply in the empowerment of communities of color, I recognize my comments undercut that goal. Going forward, reconciliation will be my priority,” she said. “I have already reached out to many of my Black colleagues and other Black leaders to express my regret in order for us to heal.”

In a statement to NBC Los Angeles, de León apologized for the “wholly inappropriate” comments.

“I regret appearing to condone and even contribute to certain insensitive comments made about a colleague and his family in private. I’ve reached out to that colleague personally,” he said. “On that day, I fell short of the expectations we set for our leaders — and I will hold myself to a higher standard.”

Cedillo, who appeared not to have made any controversial comments himself, apologized for not intervening in a statement to CNN.