Dr. Jay Varma, NYC's former senior health advisor and a prominent figure in the city's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has come under intense backlash.
Allegedly, Varma attended and hosted "drug-fueled" parties during the lockdown era, despite having publicly advocated for strict social distancing and safety protocols himself. He admitted to his transgressions in a statement to the New York Post.
Now, he has come under fire for violating the rules he helped enforce. Conservative podcaster Steven Crowder brought these allegations to light through a string of recorded videos on Thursday, September 19.
Councilman Robert Holden called for an investigation into Varma's actions, as he can be heard bragging about these violations in the videos.
Who is Dr. Jay Varma?
Per his LinkedIn, Dr. Jay Varma is a physician executive and an epidemiologist who currently works as the executive vice president and chief medical officer at SIGA Technologies. He studied at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and subsequently graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, where he earned a BA in history and science.
He boasts over 150 published scientific research and essays under his name. He has also co-authored a book and has a known TV presence such as on CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, and NPR.
Furthermore, he served as New York City's public health adviser from April 2020 to May 2021 under Mayor Bill de Blasio. He enacted mask mandates and called for vaccinations and social distancing.
Steven Crowder posted the footage taken from a hidden camera that shows Dr. Jay Varma engaging with a woman about the parties. The woman's face was not caught on camera. He recanted going to a rave somewhere near a Wall Street bank while he was high on MDMA. He noted that there were 200 other people at this party where "everybody’s high," held in June 2021.
"And I was so happy because I hadn’t done that… in like a year or whatever. But I was looking around being like, f***, I wonder if anybody sees me and they’re going to be pissed because this was not Covid-friendly.”
Furthermore, he admitted that he hosted two s*x parties with his wife at various hotels, with around 10 other people. Once it was in August 2020, and the other in November 2020. In the clip, he can be heard saying,
“It was fun. We all took… Molly [Ecstasy/MDMA] and it was… eight to 10 of us in a room and everybody had a blast because everybody was like so pent up because like everybody was stuck together and stuff like that. And sometimes it isn’t so much about like penetrative se*ual stuff. Some of it is just something about like bodies being close to each other. Just being naked with friends.”
Per The New York Post, Jay Varma can be heard at one point in the clips, saying,
"I had to be kind of sneaky about it… because I was running the entire COVID response in the city. I did all this deviant, se*ual stuff while I was on TV… and people are like 'Aren’t you afraid? Aren’t you embarrassed' And I was like, no, actually… I love being my authentic self. The only way I could do this job for the city was if I had some way to blow off steam every now and then.”
He was then asked if there was a leak that he was "‘having sex parties during Covid" to which he replied that it would be a "big deal" and a "real embarrassment.”
Dr. Jay Varma first rose to prominence when he enacted the mandatory vaccine rules that eventually barred the Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving from playing hoop in the city because he refused to get the shots. In the video, he can be heard bragging about this to someone.
Dr. Jay Varma releases a statement, claims he was targetted by "an operative for an extremist right-wing organization"
In a statement given to the New York Post, Dr. Jay Varma called out Crowder:
"Unfortunately, I was targeted by an operative for an extremist right-wing organization determined to malign public health officials and take down the public health system in America. This individual has been highly discredited and he has been banned from numerous media outlets for his homophobic slurs and racist rants."
He acknowledged that he didn't use "his best judgment" at the time, noting that the conversations were meant to be "private.
"In those private conversations that were secretly recorded, spliced, diced, and taken out of context, I referred to events that transpired four years ago. I served in City Hall between April 2020 - May 2021. During that time, I participated in two private gatherings. I take responsibility for not using the best judgment at the time."
He continued, claiming that he "stands by his efforts" to get the city vaccinated and refused to become a target of "dangerous extremist efforts."
"Facing the greatest public health crisis in a century, our top priority was to save lives, and every decision made was based on the best available science to keep New Yorkers safe. I stand by my efforts to get New Yorkers vaccinated against COVID-19, and I reject dangerous extremist efforts to undermine the public's confidence in the need for and effectiveness of vaccines."
Councilman Holden is calling for a full-scale City Council investigation into Dr. Jay Varma's actions, noting that he "has no shame. It is disgusting." He said, in a statement on Thursday,
"Thousands of New Yorkers lost their lives, families were separated, businesses closed, and residents faced enormous mental and emotional strain. The idea that a public official in charge of the City’s COVID-19 response was participating in illegal gatherings while imposing harsh restrictions on others is not only hypocritical but a violation of the public trust."
Holden is also demanding the involvement of state and federal prosecutors, such as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Interim Commissioner Thomas Donlon.
According to him, Jay Varma should be subjected to the “same legal standards as every other resident of this City.”
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