KENS 5 obtained audio from a September 2025 staff meeting after a councilmember referenced the comment at the Aug. 24, 2026, council meeting.

BALCONES HEIGHTS, Texas — The city of Balcones Heights says it is reviewing comments Mayor Johnny A. Rodriguez Jr. made during a September 2025 staff meeting, after KENS 5 obtained audio of him repeating a remark about rape.

KENS 5 is the first news outlet to obtain the recording, which the city says an employee made during a Sept. 19, 2025, meeting with city staff.



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During the meeting, Rodriguez criticized previous city leaders’ financial decisions, including the city’s mall investment, and discussed changes he wanted to make to staffing and management.

Before repeating the remark about rape, he questioned whether arguing with critics he called “angry birds” accomplished anything.

“Like T. Boone Pickens said, when you’re gonna get raped, just lay down and enjoy it,” Rodriguez says in the recording. He then laughs.

During the same discussion, he told staff they had nothing to worry about if they did their jobs.

Although Rodriguez attributed the remark to Pickens, a similar comment was documented during Clayton Williams’ 1990 campaign for Texas governor. Williams compared bad weather to rape, saying, “If it’s inevitable, just relax and enjoy it,” according to Associated Press reporting.

Rodriguez’s comment resurfaced nearly a year later during a tense exchange at the Aug. 24, 2026, City Council meeting.

As Rodriguez prepared to leave the dais, he said, “I’m not gonna take this from a child-support dodger and a wife beater.” A councilmember responded by referencing the mayor’s earlier remark about rape.

That exchange prompted KENS 5 to file a public records request for the original audio. The city provided the recording.

Moments after the council exchange, Rodriguez had an encounter with former Councilmember Lamar Gillian that later led to his arrest on a misdemeanor assault charge.

In a Sept. 2 statement, the city said it takes Rodriguez’s comments seriously.

“The comments do not represent the values, standards, or views of the City of Balcones Heights,” the statement said.

City officials said no complaints related to the comments had been filed as of the statement’s release. The city said it is reviewing the matter and will provide additional information as it becomes available.

KENS 5 asked Rodriguez to explain the context of his comments and respond to the city’s statement. He had not responded by publication.