Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford’s wife Kelly Stafford took aim at Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a series of Instagram videos, saying she is “over” living “in a dictatorship that we call Michigan.”
“They will not make it,” Stafford said of small businesses in the state. “So once we are able to leave our house, once this dictatorship lets us have some freedom, there will be nothing left.”
Kelly Stafford is over living “in a dictatorship that we call Michigan.” pic.twitter.com/ovGcoNkJ4j
— Evan Jankens (@KINGoftheKC) November 19, 2020
While Stafford acknowledged the pandemic can be scary, including for her, she said she believes people at higher risk should take the most precautions.
“If you are at risk, do not leave your house until there’s a vaccine,” Stafford said.
“I feel for these small businesses. It’s not that I don’t feel for the people that have COVID or the hospitals, I do, but this is my opinion,” Stafford continued. “I do not like living in a place where they tell me what I can and cannot do. I only live once.”
Stafford said she will gather a list of local businesses and tag them on social media so that her followers can help support them.
After facing backlash in some comments on her post, Stafford later issued an apology for her remarks.
“Here’s what I do best, coming back to apologize after I read some of your things … I’m really sorry, I was in the heat of the moment,” Stafford said. “I have a friend losing their business, and it’s just getting to me a little bit. So I apologize for calling it a dictatorship, probably the not-so-smart use of words.”
Stafford’s comments come as Whitmer issued a new round of restrictions that went into effect Wednesday, attempting to combat the rising number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.
But some lawmakers in the state of Michigan might be sympathetic to Stafford’s view, having grown frustrated over the governor’s lack of interest in consulting the state’s legislature on any of the mandates she has put into place.
“The Supreme Court has told the governor that she needs to work with the legislature. I think the onus is placed on the governor to work with the people’s chamber, unfortunately, she has not done that,” Michigan state Rep. Phil Green told the Washington Examiner when asked about Whitmer’s restrictions.
Other lawmakers have launched an effort to impeach the governor.
