‘Blatant Islamophobia’: Zohran Mamdani Torches Andrew Cuomo Campaign Over Leaked Ad That Photoshopped His Beard

 
Democratic mayoral candidates Andrew Cuomo, far left, and Michael Blake present arguments as Whitney Tilson, second from left, and Zohran Mamdani look on during a Democratic mayoral primary debate, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in New York.

AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani blasted Andrew Cuomo’s campaign in response to an ad that edited Mamdani’s beard.

On Wednesday evening, Jacob N. Kornbluh of The Forward posted the ad on Twitter/X. The ad, which Kornbluh claimed was from Cuomo’s super PAC, featured a headshot of the Muslim candidate with the text, “Reject Zohran Mamdani.” It also claimed that Mamdani “rejects” the NYPD, Israel, capitalism, and Jewish rights.

More observant social media users noticed that in the ad, Mamdani’s beard appears noticeably thicker and darker.

The next morning, the ad got the attention of Mamdani himself.

“Andrew Cuomo is afraid he’ll lose, so his donors want you to fear me,” he tweeted. “His SuperPAC just sent out a mailer that artificially lengthened and darkened my beard.

“This is blatant Islamophobia—the kind of racism that explains why MAGA billionaires support his campaign.”

Mamdani also included an unedited version of the photo.

According to additional reporting from New York Daily News reporter Chris Sommerfeldt, a PAC source confirmed that a “filter” was applied to the photo in the mailer ad; and that filer made Mamdani’s beard “bushier.”

Interestingly, the PAC rejected the design and decided not to sent out the ad. At the time of writing, it was unknown how it was released to the public.

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