Boston Mayor Michelle Wu made headlines this week for hosting a holiday party dedicated to elected officials of color.

Attendees at the party included state Sen. Liz Miranda, D-2nd Suffolk, state Rep. Christopher Worrell, D-5th Suffolk, and Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden.

The party has been a long tradition that the city has held, but an email cast a pall over the celebration for some.

On Tuesday, Wu’s office was accidentally sent out an email to every member of City Council, inviting them to the “Electeds of Color Holiday Party,” according to NBC Boston, the media outlet that first broke the news.

Fifteen minutes later, Wu’s office sent another email apologizing for the email, NBC Boston reported. The party was intended for elected officials of color, the mayor said.

“I wanted to apologize for my previous email regarding a Holiday Party for tomorrow,” the follow-up message said, according to NBC Boston. “I did send that to everyone by accident, I apologize if my email may have offended or came across as so.”

Wu was quick to explain the email, saying that the “Electeds of Color Holiday Party,” was a longstanding tradition and one of the many holiday celebrations the city throws each year, according to the Boston Globe.

“There are many, many events that are private events for all different sorts of groups, so we’ve clarified that and look forward to seeing everyone at one of the dozens of other opportunities to celebrate the holidays together,” Wu told NBC Boston on Wednesday.

“I think we all have been in a position at one point where an email went out and there was a mistake in the recipients, so there was truly just an honest mistake that happened in issuing the invitation,” the mayor added.

Wu’s explanation didn’t stop some people from feeling frustrated over a private holiday dinner party.

Howie Carr, a conservative columnist for the Boston Herald, described Wu’s “electeds of color” holiday party as the mayor celebrating a “non-white Christmas”.

“What if the reverse had happened – what if a white mayor had held a whites-only party at a city-owned building, after specifically disinviting all the non-white members of the City Council?” Carr wrote.

City Councilors Frank Baker and Sharon Durkan, who are both white, said they did not take any offense to Wu’s holiday party, the Boston Globe reported.

“It’s a really busy season!” Durkan said in a statement to the Globe. “As a new elected official, I’ve been inundated with invites to holiday events. I’m not the least bit offended to not be included in this long-standing get together. What is new this season is how many elected officials of color represent our City and State. Let’s be clear, that’s an amazing thing and I hope attendees had a blast last night.”

In a post, on X, the app formerly known as Twitter, City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo seemed to make fun of people’s outrage.

“Never let facts get in the way of some manufactured outrage,” Ricardo wrote. “Electeds of Color has existed for over a decade and the holiday party is an annual tradition. Wait until someone tells them about the Congressional Black Caucus or MA Black and Latino Legislative Caucus. The horror!!”