Unafraid to make a strong political statement, even if it means going against her fellow liberals, Debra Messing faces ugly backlash after sharing what some call “Islamophobic” posts about Zohran Mamdani and a meme calling him an ‘America-hating jihadist.’ Messing, who is Jewish, has taken issue with Mamdani’s support for Hamas and unapologetic hatred for Israel.
The Independent “A vote for Sliwa is a vote for Mamdani is a vote for New-York-Stan,” read one graphic she reposted. Another featured a ballot on which the options were “A Democrat” and “An Actual Communist Jihadist… A literal Karl Marx-quoting, America-hating jihadist.”
Messing became increasingly vocal in her support of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo — and opposition to Mamdani — as Tuesday’s election neared. The “jihadist” image she re-shared shows a voter choosing between “A Democrat Just a Democrat” and “An Actual Communist Jihadist A Literal Karl Marx-Quoting, America-Hating Jihadist.”
The post was originally shared by an account called The Persian Jewess, which wrote with the hastag #ZohranMamdani, “This isn’t just a mayoral race. It’s the battle for Democracy itself. New York City, make the right choice. Vote for [Andrew] Cuomo. Vote for NYC. Vote for Democracy.”
A staunch and vocal supporter of Israel who has stood against antisemitism in Hollywood and beyond after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, Messing also reposted a video of one influencer calling Mamdani “Osama bin Mamdani,” one meme saying Jews do not fly planes into buildings, Trump saying that any Jewish person who votes for the Democratic nominee is “a stupid person” and much more.
Messing was honored this week in Tel Aviv with a key to the city and an advocacy award given on the closing night of the International LGBTQ+ Film Festival at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. The “Will & Grace” star has become one of the most consistent and prominent Hollywood figures standing for Israeli rights since Oct. 7. Most recently, she signed an open letter denouncing a proposed Israeli film institution boycott: “We cannot stay silent when a story is turned into a weapon, when lies are dressed up as justice and when artists are misled into amplifying antisemitic propaganda,” it read.
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USA Today During a recent red-carpet interview, the 57-year-old actress shared her thoughts about New York’s mayoral election and the state of the city in general. She said: “I voted for Cuomo because he has decades of experience and, you know, it does not feel safe in New York right now. I understand the passions behind Mamdani. He’s young and enthusiastic, but he’s never had a job. He’s 33 years old, and New York City is the financial center of our country and I don’t think he has the experience for the job.”
But on Tuesday, Messing reshared posts attacking Mamdani’s support for Palestine and publicly identifying his volunteers. She also reshared a Truth Social post from President Donald Trump calling Mamdani a “JEW HATER.”
One of the comments on Messing’s recent Instagram posts decried the “deeply Islamophobic post in your stories maligning all Muslims,” while X users called Messing’s social media posts a “meltdown.
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But not everyone found Debra Messing’s posts offensive:
Mamdani, went on a morning show and alluded to @therealdebramessing as being Islamophobic, which is insane and wrong. Debra is One of the kindest, most loving people, to a point where sometimes it drives me a bit crazy. Stop deflecting with your gaslighting please, Mamdani, we… pic.twitter.com/DgEYhoF7sy
— Abraham Hamra (@HamraAbraham) July 1, 2025
glad you don”t hate possums they got to be the happiest critters on the planet always goes around with a shiteating grin. love halal bacon
she’s saucy a bit huffy a lot sassy but I like her !
Other than her support for Israel, she’s way too far left for me.
that so ! well was always swayed by a leggy female , poor judgment of what’s attached to the main attraction you might be thinking and you might be right .
Well, she is very attractive and I watched her on Will & Grace all the time. But she’s a Hollywood lib. Nuf said.
‘Deeply Islamophobic’ – well, that’s a surprise. I’m Islamophobic too, I wonder how that happened.
Nice to see she’s finally waking up.
I am no fan of Messing but she is right on the mark with this statement. And appreciate her candor and truthfulness. As usual The Satanic communist Muslim Mamdani uses the word Islamophobic. Only a fool would not be Islamophobic. This is a Satanic ideology not a faith
Islamophobia is an irrational fear of. Fear of Islam is rational and justified.
I hate, not necessarily in this order, raccoons, coyotes, ground hogs, rats, cockroaches and mohammedans. Not really scared of any of them, but dayummmm, they are SO much fun to shoot.
Alley-hoo-ackburrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr