1.1480774-1381365565
FILE - In this Dec. 7, 2012, file photo, novelist Stephen King speaks to creative writing students at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell in Lowell, Mass. King says he still lives in Maine, and he insists that Gov. Paul LePage's claim that he has moved from the state is inaccurate. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File) Image Credit: AP

Maine Governor Paul LePage says he doesn’t owe Stephen King an apology.

The governor responded to a question about the spat during a public discussion by saying he never stated King moved to Florida to dodge income taxes. Instead, he contends he said King is “not in Maine right now.”

That’s not how King saw it.

The governor referenced King during a radio address after noting that former Governor Kenneth Curtis moved to Florida “where there is zero income tax.” He said King “moved away as well.”

The reference to King was later removed from a transcript of the address.

King, who lives in Bangor and pays Maine income taxes, demanded an apology. He said of LePage in an email on Thursday: “I repeat: He’s not man enough to admit he made a mistake.”