London city council member responded to use of racial slur: ‘I am not a racist’

Domestic violence charges were filed against Councilman Justin Young and his ex-girlfriend, Crystal Hoskins, on Tuesday, Sept. 15.

On Wednesday, FOX 56 obtained a copy of a nearly seven-minute recording containing explicit language that was used in the courtroom earlier that day.

Young said the audio came from a fight months ago.

He admits his the words he used were wrong and said he deeply regrets them.

I want to address something important to be completely transparent. During a recent court hearing, audio was played that included words I said months ago. This was from a very personal and difficult time in my life, and unfortunately, it has now become public. I take full responsibility for my words. At that time, I was dealing with overwhelming emotions of anger and betrayal after learning that the woman I was in a relationship with had been unfaithful. In that moment, I said something I should have never have said. There is no excuse. My words were wrong, and I deeply regret them. I want to be clear: I am not a racist. But I also recognize that what I said was harmful and unacceptable. I believe in owning my mistakes, learning from them, and doing better moving forward. While I cannot take back what I said, I can promise to grow from this experience and ensure it never happens again.
Councilman Justin Young

You can read more about the case between Young and Hoskins online.

Madylin Goins contributed to this story.