After a shortlived career as television talk show hosts, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and his brother, Coun. Doug Ford, are ready to relaunch their "Ford Nation" program on YouTube.
The new online show, which shares the same name as the one that was nixed by Sun News last year after only one episode, will premiere on Monday, a news release from the Office of the Mayor said.
"The Ford Nation Series, produced by volunteers, will cover a wide range of topics, from politics to sports and community," the release said.
Viewers will be able to submit email questions to the Ford brothers, and "hear from them, directly and unfiltered."
In a promotional YouTube clip for the online series, the mayor pokes fun at his brother for his weight, asking him, "What do you eat? You got a big belly on you. You must be eating something. What's your favourite food?"
Ford's brother quips back, saying, "Hold on, that's the pot calling the kettle black."
The mayor, who once described himself as "300 pounds of fun," abandoned his public weight-loss campaign in 2012. The "Cut the Waist Challenge" involved semi-weekly weigh-ins at city hall.
Ford goes on in the promotional YouTube clip to defend his public image, saying, "Please judge me on my record, not my personal life."
The launch of the web series comes on the heels of two anti-Ford advertisements that recently appeared on YouTube.
In one of them, which has the hallmarks of a professional video, the ad doesn't mention Ford’s personal problems – including admitting to smoking crack cocaine in one of his "drunken stupors" – but instead attacks his political record.
"Rob Ford makes many promises, but does he keep them?" the narrator asks. The ad mentions service cuts, the number of police officers patrolling Toronto’s streets, and a TTC fare hike.
In the second ad, some of Ford's most infamous quotes are featured, including a number of profane F-word laden ones.
