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MONTREAL — Jean-François Lisée was coming off a rare good week as leader of the Parti Québécois when he and his deputy leader, Véronique Hivon, sat down for a radio interview Sunday. Then he decided to joke about a woman’s moustache.

Lisée was singing the praises of Hivon, whose appointment as deputy a week earlier had generated positive press for a party slumping in the polls. Hivon’s role is different from that of Québec Solidaire’s Manon Massé, he said. “What’s more, unlike Manon, she does not have a moustache.”

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There were immediate boos and shouts of “No!” from the studio audience. “Seriously!” one of the hosts exclaimed. A sputtering Lisée tried to defend himself.

“Pardon me, Manon says her moustache is important,” he began. “I am not laughing. Nobody is laughing,” he added, prompting an outburst of laughter from the hosts.

On Twitter, Lisée was accused of being homophobic toward Massé, a longtime feminist and defender of LGBTQ rights.