Toronto Mayor Rob Ford to Take Leave of Absence to Get Help for Substance Abuse (Updated)

After finally owning up to his substance abuse struggles, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford will take a leave of absence.

May 1, 2014

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Complex Original

Embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford will reportedly take a leave of absence to seek assistance for his substance abuse issues.

According to ABC News, Ford's attorney, Dennis Morris, said the 44-year-old acknowledged his struggles and wants to take action. The news comes after the Toronto Sun claims to have secured "raunchy" audio footage of a heavily intoxicated Ford making lewd comments in a Toronto bar Monday night:

Stintz and her campaign reportedly want an immediate apology from Ford:

Furthermore, the Globe and Mail says two of its reporters have viewed yet another video of Ford smoking crack in the early hours of Saturday morning.

From the Associated Press:

Ford's decision to step away from his campaign and these new allegations come nearly a year after Gawker broke the news of a video showing Ford smoking crack existing, and Ford's eventual admission to smoking crack last November. In between have been a series of puzzling events that, while amusing to the general public, have been nothing short of embarrassing for the mayor and his family.

Ford, who is up for re-election in October, will keep his name on the ballot.

UPDATE: Ford has released a statement on the matter:

According to CP24, Toronto Star editor Michael Cooke said the paper plans to publish a story about two unruly nights Ford spent at Toronto's Muzik nightclub. It's there that Ford allegedly got into a confrontation with Justin Bieber after the pop star made a joke about the crack video:

UPDATE #2: According to the Toronto Star, witnesses reportedly watched Ford do cocaine at Muzik nightclub in April. In addition, the Star claims the alleged Bieber encounter took place on Mar. 15 and went as follows:

The plot thickens.

[via ABC News, Toronto Sun, Globe and Mail, CP24, Toronto Star and Associated Press]