Zohran Mamdani’s recent victory in the New York City mayoral election has sparked strong reactions across the political spectrum. While many celebrated the win, others focused on criticizing Mamdani — often targeting his background and faith rather than his policies. Among those who drew attention for her remarks was Will & Grace actress Debra Messing, who is now receiving significant criticism online.
Mamdani won the election with 50.4% of the vote, defeating independent candidate Andrew Cuomo. Following his victory, some critics began circulating negative claims centered on Mamdani’s religion and heritage — a campaign reminiscent of the rhetoric that emerged when Kamala Harris was announced as a presidential candidate.
Several public figures commented, including actor James Woods. Debra Messing, who is from Brooklyn and starred as Grace Adler in the long-running series Will & Grace, also voiced her support for Cuomo and shared strong criticism of Mamdani.
Messing reposted a political graphic from another Instagram account that appeared to portray Mamdani in a highly negative and misleading light. The post compared a standard Democratic candidate with someone described using language suggesting extremist or anti-American beliefs.
This repost drew immediate concern and disapproval online, with many users accusing Messing of spreading harmful stereotypes and misinformation. Some social media users expressed disappointment, stating they had expected more thoughtful commentary from a public figure.
Others, however, defended Messing’s right to express her views and agreed with her concerns, praising her for speaking out.
Messing later shared another post referencing 9/11 while mentioning Mamdani, which further contributed to the criticism being directed at her.
In his victory speech, Zohran Mamdani acknowledged the negativity he encountered during the campaign, saying:
“Conventional wisdom would say I’m an unlikely candidate. I am young, I am Muslim, I am a democratic socialist — and I make no apologies for any of it.”