Rama Duwaji Apologizes for Offensive Teenage Social Media Posts

Rama Duwaji, wife of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, apologized on Wednesday for old social media posts that included racial slurs and celebrations of Palestinian terrorists. The apology was made in an interview with the online publication Hyperallergic, her first public interview since her husband became mayor in January 2026.

" The Washington Free Beacon published an investigation in March 2026 revealing a number of Duwaji's old posts on X, formerly Twitter, and Tumblr.

U.S. and internationally. Abu Ghazaleh died in 1968 when a bomb she planned to use in Tel Aviv exploded prematurely in her home. Additional posts included the use of a racial slur and a derogatory term for gay people.

" The account was deleted shortly after the Free Beacon's report. Duwaji is a Texas-born Syrian-American artist and illustrator whose work often explores Arab identity and social justice themes. " Mayor Mamdani, New York City's first Muslim and democratic socialist mayor, condemned Abulhawa's rhetoric as "patently unacceptable" and "reprehensible" in March 2026.

He defended his wife as "a private person who has held no formal position on my campaign or in City Hall," noting that she was commissioned as a freelance illustrator and had no direct engagement with Abulhawa or knowledge of the tweets referenced. Duwaji stated her focus remains on continuing her work responsibly and allowing her art to speak for itself.

“When a tabloid recently published old tweets I wrote as a teenager, I felt a lot of shame being confronted with language I used that is so harmful to others; being 15 doesn’t excuse it." — Rama Duwaji to Hyperallergic > "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." — Rama Duwaji to Hyperallergic > "I think that that rhetoric is patently unacceptable. I think it's reprehensible.”