Will & Grace star Debra Messing faces major backlash for brutal message to Zohran Mamdani
Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory in the New York City mayoral race not only reshaped the city’s political direction — it also ignited a fierce wave of public debate. Among the many voices weighing in was one that few expected to dominate the headlines: Will & Grace star Debra Messing.
When the final votes were counted, 34-year-old Mamdani made history as the city’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor, narrowly defeating independent candidate Andrew Cuomo with just over 50% of the vote. But within hours of the announcement, attention turned from celebration to controversy, as Messing — a Brooklyn native known for her outspoken political activism — reposted a meme labeling Mamdani a “communist jihadist.”
The post, which described the election as a choice between “democracy and extremism,” was immediately condemned online. Critics accused Messing of promoting racist and Islamophobic rhetoric, pointing out that such language carries deep historical weight — especially in a city still healing from decades of post-9/11 bias.
The backlash was swift and severe. Thousands of users denounced her remarks as “offensive” and “dangerous,” arguing that they targeted Mamdani’s identity rather than his policies. One user wrote that she had “crossed a line that no public figure should,” while another called her words “a reminder of how prejudice hides behind political language.”
Yet, some defended Messing, claiming she was simply expressing legitimate political concern about Mamdani’s progressive platform. To them, her criticism was about ideology, not religion — though the choice of words told a more complicated story.