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INSIDE THE VILLAGE: The F-bomb heard round the world

Episode 16 of the podcast: The mayor of Peterborough was asked to comment on the QAnon conspiracy theorists who descended on her city. Her response—'F**k off, you f**kwads'—went viral

Welcome back to Inside the Village, a one-of-a-kind podcast where all news is local—and no topic is off-limits.

On this week's episode, we catch up with Peterborough mayor Diane Therrien, who triggered headlines around the world last month for daring to use the F-word.

For those who missed it, a group of Canadian QAnon followers descended on Peterborough in mid-August to try to arrest police officers for their role in enforcing COVID-19 public health measures. Not surprisingly, they failed miserably.

Asked to comment on the city's conspiracy-driven visitors, Therrien typed out a Tweet that has since gone viral: “I hate giving airtime/spotlight to these imbeciles. Here is my comment: f**k off, you f**kwads."

On the podcast, the mayor walks us through the Tweet, the global reaction—and how one local charity is benefiting from all the publicity she's received.

Warning: If you find coarse language offensive, this probably isn't the episode for you. 

Launched in April, Inside the Village is a news and current affairs podcast that provides a weekly window into some of the best local journalism from across Village Media's chain of Ontario newsrooms. The program also explores bigger-picture issues that impact people across the province.

Every episode is available on this news site /insidethevillage. If you prefer the audio version, it is available wherever you find your favourite podcasts.

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