Last night, Zohran Mamdani defeated Andrew Cuomo to become the next mayor of New York City. Cue the online crashouts.
Leading the pack is Will & Grace star Debra Messing, who is now facing intense backlash for sharing dozens of posts smearing the Democratic candidate on Instagram in the run-up to polls closing.
Messing took part in early voting last week, sharing in a post that she cast her ballot for Cuomo, who ran as an independent.
Before the race was called, Messing took to her Instagram Stories to share an onslaught of anti-Mamdani graphics and videos, many including blatant Islamophobia.
She reposted a video of one influencer calling Mamdani “Osama bin Mamdani.” Another featured a ballot on which the options were “A Democrat” and “An Actual Communist Jihadist… A literal Karl Marx-quoting, America-hating jihadist.” Mamdani is not a communist but a democratic socialist.
Messing, who is Jewish and an advocate for Israel, also shared one meme saying Jews do not fly planes into buildings, as well as a Truth Social post from President Donald Trump saying that any Jewish person who votes for Mamdani is “a stupid person.”
Other posts that appeared on Messing’s Story came from conservative outlets such as CPAC, Breitbart, and Newsmax.
Her 100-plus Instagram Story crashout did not go unnoticed. “The way my thread ended abruptly because this woman reached her 100 instagram stories a day limit by 1pm eastern,” one X user wrote, citing Instagram’s 100 Stories per day limit. “She said 431st of all,” another quipped.
“I think Zohran has actually broken her brain,” one wrote. “Fascinating albeit kinda scary to watch though.”
As Mamdani swept to victory Tuesday night, receiving 50.4% of the vote to become New York City’s new mayor, Messing’s meltdown is unlikely to be soon forgotten. “I will personally make sure that Debra Messing’s Islamophobic crashout on Instagram is written into the history books,” one wrote.
Fast Company has reached out to Messing for comment.
Messing is not alone in publicly voicing her displeasure with last night’s result, much to the amusement of Mamdani voters. “Where the meltdowns at, i need the best rightwing meltdowns to laugh at,” one X user posted.
Messing’s crashout is high up in the replies. Actor and comedian Michael Rapaport also features on the list, with one calling his online reaction “the greatest crash out in history.”
Mamdani’s election makes him the first Muslim and Indian American mayor for the city and, at 34, the youngest mayor in generations. He will take office on January 1, 2026.
“I feel compelled to report that Debra Messing has not posted a single instagram story since the results were announced,” one X user noted.
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