Toronto Mayor Rob Ford drunkenly derided Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak for showing solidarity with gays and lesbians.

But instead of condemning Ford’s offensive slurs earlier this week, Hudak on Thursday struggled to avoid commenting on them.

“I know the mayor made some comments about me and about our team,” he said mildly of Ford’s slurs that have dominated the news across Canada since the Toronto Sun reported them Wednesday night.

Asked about the mayor condemning him for approving the hoisting of the rainbow Pride flag at Queen’s Park in support of Russia’s gay community during the recent Sochi Olympics, the Tory chief dodged and weaved.

“Jesus,” a visibly frustrated Hudak said at one point after repeated questioning from reporters during an excruciating 30-minute news conference in the provincial budget lock-up.

“Obviously . . . that’s why we took the stand we did,” he said testily when asked by a journalist if he opposed homophobia.

“Look, we took a stand because it was the right thing to do. I’m not going to play a game here and talk about more than I’ve already said on this topic.”

Hudak, a former political ally of Ford who was among the first public figures to urge him to get help after the Star revealed his crack cocaine use last May, looked uncomfortable when pressed.

“I have not seen all the details or been briefed on the situation. I’ve been focused on the plan at hand here with the budget in front of us,” the PC leader said.

“Look, I don’t have anything to add from what I’ve had to say on the Ford situation in the past. I’ve got a big job to do here as the leader of the PC Party. Obviously I wouldn’t agree with any kind of statements that take that slant,” said Hudak.

“I’ve made my comments months ago about the situation around Rob Ford. With respect to the flying of the flag (during) the Sochi Olympics I stand by what we decided to do in our party. It was the right thing to do,” he said.

On Monday night, an apparently intoxicated Ford, who had opposed the Pride flag being raised at city hall during the Games, lambasted Hudak while drinking in an Etobicoke bar.

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“Tim Hudak comes out and says ‘yeah, I agree with all the gays . . . ’ That’s it. I lost my conservative value. Right there, he lost my vote. I can’t vote Liberal because I don’t like what (Premier Kathleen) Wynne is doing, not because she’s gay or not. I just don’t like corruption.”

In the same secretly recorded barroom rant, Ford said he would “like to f---ing jam” mayoral rival Karen Stintz.