Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was “shocked” by recent reports that former New York City officials in charge of the coronavirus pandemic admitted to partying during lockdowns while telling others to stay home.
“I had no idea about it,” Mayor de Blasio said during an appearance on NewsNation's “The Hill” on Friday.
“This is offensive and unacceptable,” he continued. “He was someone we trusted as a teammate, someone with an extensive medical background, to tell the people of New York City how we could keep everyone safe. That meant we all had to demonstrate integrity and consistency.”
His comments came after Jay K. Varma, who served as a senior health adviser at City Hall under then-Mayor de Blasio, acknowledged that he attended sex and dance parties during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic despite being told city residents to practice social distancing.
The video, posted by conservative podcaster Steven Crowder, shows Varma talking about a sex party he attended with his wife on Wall Street, The New York Times reported Thursday.
“We went to this underground dance party, like in the basement of a Wall Street bank, and everybody was having a blast,” Varma said in the video. “Everybody was taking Molly and getting high, and I hadn't done that in like a year, and I was so happy, but I was looking around and like, are they gonna be mad if they see us, because they're not Covid-safe here.”
Dr Varna told The Times that the videos are authentic but that the recordings have been “spliced together, chopped up and taken out of context.” He told the paper he went to three parties between August 2020 and June 2021.
“I take responsibility for not using the best judgment at the time,” Varma said.
He urged people to wear masks and practice social distancing during the peak of the pandemic and also helped shape the city's vaccine policy.
Mayor de Blasio said he expected Varma to apologize primarily to the people of New York City.
“It's painful and it's unacceptable,” Mayor de Blasio said Friday. “I haven't heard the audio. I hope that he has apologized to his colleagues and more broadly to the people of New York City. He certainly owes everybody an apology.”
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