Atkins’ Widow Demands Mayor’s Apology

NEW YORK —  The widow of Dr. Robert Atkins went on national television Friday to demand that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg apologize for calling the late diet guru “fat.”

Veronica Atkins told ABC’s “Good Morning America” she was “sick and tired” of her husband “being always maligned and his life’s work being trivialized.”

The mayor apparently thought he was off-camera when he made the comment while eating pasta at a firehouse earlier this week. Using an expletive to express doubts about the details of Atkins’ death, he said Tuesday, “I mean, the guy was fat.”

Atkins, whose diet stresses meat, eggs and cheese over pasta, bread and vegetables, died last April at 72 from head injuries sustained from a fall on an icy sidewalk.

Veronica Atkins asserted her husband died from “severe trauma to his head.” His fall was unrelated to any health problems, and his arteries were clear, she said.

“I was very, very hurt, and I was angry” about Bloomberg’s remarks, she said.

In an interview taped to air Sunday on WABC-TV of New York, Bloomberg said nobody wanted to hurt either of the Atkinses. When pressed on whether he would apologize, Bloomberg said, “Well, I don’t think there is anything to apologize for when you tell a joke.... I think my answer is, lighten up a little bit, and you should watch what you eat,” he said.

On Wednesday, Bloomberg told reporters that he “would never criticize someone about their waistline.” Spokesman Jordan Barowitz, declined to comment further Friday.

In his firehouse remarks, Bloomberg also said the food at an Atkins fundraiser in the Hamptons had been “inedible.”

Atkins’ widow said the caterer was “considered to be one of the best in the Hamptons.”