Debra Messing is facing a torrent of backlash from social media users in the wake of Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory in the New York City mayoral race, after sharing inflammatory posts about the city’s first-ever Muslim mayor.
The Will & Grace star’s Instagram Stories have been flooded with anti-Mamdani content over the past week, posting more than 40 videos on the day of the election, with half aimed at New York voters, who overwhelmingly went for the 34-year-old over former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the highest turnout poll since 1969.
Among the posts shared and reposted by Messing – who has become a fierce vocal advocate for Israel in the wake of the October 7 terror attacks – was one describing New York City’s incoming democratic socialist mayor as ‘an actual communist jihadist… A literal Karl Marx-quoting, America-hating jihadist’.
Another referenced the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, and called the Ugandan-born American ‘Osama Bin Mamdani’.
Many of the 57-year-old actor’s followers were quick to slam her posts, with one stating: “Your soul has gone sour and it’s embarrassing to watch.”
Meanwhile, other social media users lamented the TV star’s fall into incendiary comments.
“I think Zohran has actually broken her brain,” one said on X, adding: “Although it wasn’t in great shape before this mayoral election anyway. Fascinating albeit kinda scary to watch though.”
UNILAD has contracted Messing’s reps for comment.
A week before the election, Messing shared that she had voted early for Cuomo, arguing that ‘our city is too massive, complex, and consequential’ for a young and inexperienced politician to be its representative.
This is despite Cuomo being found to have created a ‘sexually hostile work environment’ during his time in office.
Around a dozen women came forward with accusations of unwanted touching and sexual comments, after which Cuomo was forced to resign.
This led to one person commenting: “With all the sexual allegations and the crimes that he’s committed. I’m a native New Yorker. I would never vote for Cuomo. He’s old outdated. We need someone new and fresh.”
While Messing’s opinion of the mayor-elect became evident to her 1.4 million Instagram followers over the course of the campaign, by the morning of November 5, it became apparent that many New Yorkers did not share her views, with 1,036,000 (50.4 percent) of the voting public choosing Mamdani over Cuomo, or distant third-place Republican Curtis Sliwa.
During his victory speech in the early hours, New York City’s next mayor answered many of the jibes and digs sent his way during the campaign.
Mamdani said: “The conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate. I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist.
“And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this.”