Rama Duwaji, the wife of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, has issued an apology for “harmful” social media posts she made as a teenager.
Her public statement follows a conservative news outlet’s investigation into her online profiles, which resurfaced material including a post containing an anti-gay slur.
In an interview with the arts website Hyperallergic, Duwaji, an illustrator by profession, conveyed “a lot of shame being confronted with language I used that is so harmful to others,” adding that “being 15 doesn’t excuse it.”
She further stated, “I’ve read and seen a lot of what others have had to say in response, and I understand the hurt I caused and am truly sorry.”
Duwaji did not specify which comments she was referring to, nor did she address other, more recent social media activity concerning Israel.
This activity has drawn considerable scrutiny as Mayor Mamdani endeavors to alleviate concerns among some in the city’s Jewish community regarding his own criticisms of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
Last month, The Washington Free Beacon reported on years of Duwaji’s online activity across various platforms.
Their findings included posts praising female Palestinian militants involved in plane hijackings and bombings in the 1960s and early 1970s.
In 2015, she shared a post where another individual wrote that Tel Aviv was occupying Palestinian land and “shouldn’t exist.”
The report also noted Duwaji’s use of a racial slur for Black people, albeit while affectionately addressing a friend, and an abbreviated slur for gay people in 2013.
Mayor Mamdani previously described his wife as a “private person” who does not hold a formal position in City Hall.
When asked on Thursday about the specific posts his wife regretted, Mamdani demurred, stating, “She shared some of her reflections in this interview. I won’t add much to them, what I will say, however, is that she is someone of incredible integrity.”
He added that questions about Duwaji’s social media activity were “part and parcel” of his decision to run for mayor, “a decision that has ramifications for those that I love.”
Separately, Duwaji has faced criticism for liking an Instagram post that appeared to celebrate Hamas’ October 7, 2023, surprise attack on Israel.
The Free Beacon also reported that Duwaji provided an illustration for an essay by an author who described the October 7 attack as “spectacular” and referred to Jewish Israelis as “rootless soulless ghouls.”
Mamdani clarified that his wife had been commissioned to illustrate an excerpt of a book by a third party, had never engaged with or met the author, and had not seen the author’s previous comments. He condemned the author’s rhetoric as “patently unacceptable” and “reprehensible.”
