'I'm not going to allow you to continue': Mayor of Cambridge, Ont., interrupts teen's Pride speech

Sophie Mills's speech referenced controversial Facebook post by Coun. Adam Cooper

Here's the moment a Cambridge teen's Pride speech was interrupted

A video that shows Cambridge, Ont., Mayor Jan Liggett interrupting a teenager's speech during a Pride event is making waves.

Sophie Mills, who was asked to address Cambridge's Pride flag-raising event on Monday at city hall, told CBC News that what ended up happening "really sucked."

“That was my first big opportunity for speaking and it was scary because I had no control there. I am a teenager, I'm a child and she is an elected official," Mills said about the mayor.

Mills, who uses they/them pronouns, watched a council meeting on Oct. 14, 2025 and had decided to rewrite part of their speech to comment on how Ward 6 Coun. Adam Cooper’s controversial Facebook post in January 2025 made them feel.

Cambridge teen speaks out after mayor interrupts Pride speech

The post included a meme that showed a person with blue hair screaming toward the camera. "He took my pronouns! I have to live in reality now!" was written on the image, alluding to U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order ending many policies protecting 2SLGBTQ+ rights.

In the video showing Mills giving a speech, a seated Liggett stands up, walks toward Mills and pulls the microphone away from them.

"Sophie, I'm not going to allow you to continue. This is disrespect," Liggett said, speaking into the microphone.

"Can you remove that part from your speech please. [Cooper] has already gone through what he needs to go through and I don't think it's helpful."

In October 2025, council said Cooper would need to complete sensitivity training, after the integrity commissioner determined he violated council's code of conduct.

Online comments express support for teen

Mills's mother, Julia, shared the city hall speech video on Instagram, drawing comments of support.

CBC News reached out to Liggett’s office and her office said the mayor “appreciates the opportunity to share what transpired and your understanding that she is not able to respond by the outlined deadline. A fulsome response is forthcoming. The mayor has been in council and corporate meetings for the past two days and is currently unable to respond.”

Cooper's meme, which was posted on Facebook on Jan. 22, 2025, promptly drew the attention of members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, who called it hate speech and transphobic.

The post was later deleted from the councillor's page.

Eric Bolton, co-founder of Grand River Pride, told CBC News back then that he commented on the post in hopes the councillor would take it down.

But Cooper defended the post, saying, "Dude, respect others opinions. Be better than your comment."

In an email at the time, Liggett told CBC News, "The implications within the meme have brought distress and pain to families and members of our community.” The statement also said Cooper's post "does not represent council nor the corporation's thoughts on gender fluidity."

The integrity commissioner’s report found, “While the councillor has defended the meme as a form of political debate that used humour to assert a point, we instead have determined that the meme within the Facebook post, in the context in which it was posted, demeaned a specific group of individuals so as to make them feel secondary or devalued.”

Teen made another, 'powerful' speech

Mills made another speech later Monday. A video shows them at Grand River Pride’s separate flag-raising event at Lower Main St. in Cambridge.

Mills told CBC News that Liggett had “censored” them at the earlier event.

“It was more powerful,” Mills said of their second speech. “I was able to take my time and have a more meaningful speech because I'm able to have those pauses without being worried that I'm going to get censored and silenced.

“I was given the space to say my whole speech.”

Bryan Causarano-Bolton, co-founder of Grand River Pride, reacted to what he saw in the video involving Mills and Liggett by saying, “I'm both shocked and not surprised."

“Shocked because I couldn't believe that the mayor was at it again. I couldn't believe the mayor was taking away somebody's right to freedom of speech. But also not surprised because that's just been the relationship with the mayor's office and the Pride community,” he continued.

Causarano-Bolton said Grand River Pride has been “really struggling” with their relationship with the city, citing its lack of transparency behind Cooper’s reprimand and sensitivity training.

'Not the community that I deserve'

CBC News reached out to the City of Cambridge to confirm details about the sensitivity training, but had not received a response by publication time. CBC News also reached out to Cooper for comment but did not receive a response.

Causarano-Bolton said Grand River Pride "would love to be able to continue our relationship" with the city.

“But until we see those changes, until the mayor apologizes for her actions against the community and against Sophie, I just don't know how that would look."

Mills believes they don't deserve what happened to them on stage.

“I have lived here forever. I'm very involved in the community. I've volunteered at city hall before. I am part of the youth advisory committee. I help kiddos because I love kiddos,” they said.

“I'm an active member of this community and this is not the community that I deserve.”

John Dalusong is a reporter/editor at CBC Kitchener-Waterloo. Have a story? Reach him at john.dalusong@cbc.ca.