Houston Reverend Condemns Girlfriend’s Viral ‘White-Only’ Rant About Deadly Camp Mystic Flood
(AP Photo/Eli Hartman)
The reverend boyfriend of Houston mayoral appointee Sadé Perkins publicly condemned her incendiary rant about the deadly flood that killed 27 girls and counselors at a Christian summer camp in Texas over the weekend.
Reverend Colin Bossen, senior minister at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, released a sharply worded statement on Monday distancing himself from his girlfriend, Perkins, who had ranted about the tragedy on TikTok, slamming Camp Mystic as a “white-only conservative Christian camp” and blamed Republican voters in the area.
In one post, Perkins raged: “If it was Hispanic kids, if it was LGBTQ kids that got swept away, y’all wouldn’t give a fuck.”
The video quickly went viral, prompting a firestorm of fury in reaction. Bossen addressed his congregation in a statement on Monday
“My partner Sadé Perkins has made comments on social media regarding the horrific flooding that devastated Camp Mystic,” Bossen wrote, according to The Daily Mail. “I want to be clear that I disavow her comments.”
He continued: “She was not speaking on my behalf or on behalf of my congregation… her comments have caused harm to many who are experiencing terrible loss and anxiety.”
“I believe strongly that all people have inherent worthiness and dignity. Her comments were not in the spirit of the Unitarian Universalist values centered around love that my congregation and I share,” he added.
The reverend also said he was “deeply sorry for the harm” caused by the comments “to the Camp Mystic families and the members of the community of Central Texas and along the Guadalupe River who are grieving or anxiously awaiting word about their loved ones.”
“I apologize to my congregation who has experienced harm because of her comments. I will continue to work to repair the harm this incident has caused,” he concluded.
Though Perkins holds no position at the church, her affiliation has prompted urgent damage control from leadership. Board president Joan Waddill stressed Perkins “is affiliated with our church, but not a member or on our staff,” adding that her remarks “contradict the core values of our church.”
The backlash stems from a series of social media videos in which Perkins, appointed by Houston Mayor John Whitmire to the city’s Food Insecurity Board, called out the camp’s racial demographics and blamed Republican leaders, including President Donald Trump and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, for the deadly flooding.
Whitmire called the comments “deeply inappropriate” and vowed to remove Perkins from the board.
The deaths at Camp Mystic have left the nation reeling as the search continues for missing campers and families mourn the deaths of those lost when cabins were swept away during the floods over the weekend.
