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Toronto mayor’s rant caught on video

Posted at 6:42 AM, Nov 08, 2013
and last updated 2013-11-08 06:42:22-05

(CNN) -- Just days after admitting he had smoked crack cocaine, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford found himself trying to explain more bizarre behavior.

A video obtained by the Toronto Star and released Thursday shows the embattled mayor staggering around and making violent threats about some unknown person.

"I'm going to kill that (expletive) guy. I'm telling you it's first-degree murder. ... He dies or I die, brother," Ford is heard saying in the video.

Ford makes large motions with his hands in the video as he explains what he will do: "When he's down, I'll rip his (expletive) throat out" and "I'll poke his eyes out" and "I'll make sure that (expletive) is dead."

Ford responded to the video shortly after it was released, saying that he was drunk at the time.

"All I can do is reassure the people that I don't know what to say," Ford told reporters. "It's extremely embarrassing. The whole world is going to see it. I don't have a problem with that."

He added, "Obviously I was extremely, extremely inebriated. That's all I have to say."

The context surrounding the short video is not known.

In it, the mayor makes reference to someone calling him and his brothers liars.

Despite the controversy, Ford is clinging to office, confounding critics and delighting supporters who say he's done plenty of good for the city despite headlines around the world that have splashed a bit of mud on the image of the gleaming lakeside city that's arguably the cultural center of English-speaking Canada.

CNN's Mariano Castillo, Stephanie Gallman and Michael Pearson contributed to this report.

You can see the full video here from theToronto Star. WARNING: The video featured from the newspaper is explicit and profane.