Controversies Surrounding Zohran Mamdani’s Wife Rama Duwaji That the Internet Won’t Forget

Ever since Zohran Mamdani took office as the New York Mayor, his wife, Rama Duwaji, has come into the limelight, and the internet won’t stop bringing up her controversial past. Zohran Mamdani has become the people’s mayor and has often received widespread praise for decisions that benefit the city’s welfare.

Mamdani chose not to attend the Met Gala 2026, which took place on May 4 and was boycotted by several celebrities. According to the Irish Star, Mamdani called the Met Gala “an incredible museum,” but did not choose to attend the red-carpet event. He stated that his focus was on “affordability and making the most expensive city in the United States affordable.”

That said, Zohran Mamdani’s wife has now come into the limelight after Miss Israel bumped into the city’s first lady.  27-year-old Melanie Shiraz stated that she ran into Rama Duwaji sitting at a coffee shop. However, the first lady “brushed her off” after learning of her Israeli descent. Shiraz posted a video with the first lady, where she can be seen feeling awkward alongside Miss Israel.

“I had told her I’m Miss Israel, and then she didn’t want to engage with me anymore. Shocker,’’ Shiraz said in a statement to The California Post. “She was polite but clearly changed her tone. Right before I took that [footage], I asked her if we could take a photo and introduced myself. As soon as I did, she said, ‘Sorry’ and asked if it was a video, and said she didn’t want to anymore.”

When Shiraz brought up Rama Duwaji’s comments on Israel, she simply “brushed her off” and “refused to engage anymore.” Zohran Mamdani has described his wife as a “private person” in the past. That said, Mamdani’s wife’s past is also riddled with controversial statements.

Earlier this month, The Washington Free Beacon unveiled Rama Duwaji’s controversial social media posts, similar to her husband’s anti-Obama posts. The publication reported that Mamdani’s wife praised female Palestinian militants for plane hijackings and attacks and bombings from the 60s and 70s. Duwaji also came under fire for liking a post on Instagram that celebrated Hamas’s October 7, 2023, surprise attack on Israel.

In yet another finding by the publication, Duwaji provided an illustration she did for an online magazine named Slow Factory. Duwaji’s art was posted alongside a bunch of essays by Palestinian-American author Susan Abulhawa. The author has condemned Israel’s attacks on unarmed Palestinian citizens in the past and has referred to Israeli forces as “Jewish supremacist demons.”

The author described the October 7 attack as “a spectacular moment that shocked the world,” writing further on “Israel’s criminally merciless siege of Gaza.” Ever since Rama Duwaji’s past has been unveiled, she has acknowledged the issues. “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 said in a statement. “My focus isn’t on being a public figure, but continuing my work with care and responsibility, and allowing my art to speak for itself.”

Zohran Mamdani himself addressed the controversy surrounding Rama Duwaji’s illustration. “I think that that rhetoric is patently unacceptable. I think it’s reprehensible,” he said in March. “And as is common for freelance illustrators, the First Lady was commissioned to illustrate an excerpt of a book by a third party. She has never engaged with or met with the author, nor had she seen the tweets that you’re referring to.”