Emily Ratajkowski Branded ‘Disrespectful’ For Wearing Hijab and Twerking in ‘Mamdani’s New York’ Post

Zohran Mamdani hasn’t even been in office as New York City’s mayor for two weeks, but one famous New Yorker is already stirring controversy tied to his administration.

Emily Ratajkowski is facing intense backlash over a recent Instagram post referencing life in “Mamdani’s New York,” which featured the supermodel twerking in a bodega, wearing a hijab in what appeared to be a sacred space, and posing in revealing outfits for her 28.7 million followers.

The 34-year-old model and actress posted the Instagram carousel on Thursday, January 8. In one clip, Ratajkowski is seen wearing a sheer, low rise black skirt, and a barely-there top exposing her back as she bends over and twerks in a chip aisle of a bodega.

Another image shows her dressed in all white and wearing a hijab in what appears to be the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi. Additional slides include a photo of her wearing a white t-shirt pulled above her chest, showing cleavage, and a final snapshot of her walking down a New York City street, holding hands with her 4-year-old son, Sylvester Apollo Bear.

Ratajkowski captioned the post, “Mamdani’s new york!!” — a remark that appeared to welcome the new mayor, who was just nine days into his term at the time of the post.

Social media users were quick to criticize her message, with many calling it tone-deaf and disrespectful.

“Why are you so cringe?” one Instagram user asked in the comments.

“A little respect maybe from the first to the second pic…?” another wrote, referencing the transition from the twerking video to an image taken in a mosque.

“The second slide was taken in Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, my home. I’m not religious and have always been a fan of yours but damn.. show some f–king respect,” another user commented.

One person labeled the post “elite level ragebait.”

Another user shared a lengthy response, writing that while Ratajkowski is “free to do whatever” she wants with her body, her “choice to associate it with religious imagery taken in a sacred Muslim space” is questionable.

“That isn’t bold or progressive, it’s simply disrespectful,” the same user continued. “Mamdani being Muslim does not make him a stand-in for an entire faith, and it certainly doesn’t justify this. Modesty is a core principle of this religion, something your post conveniently ignores.”

“This constant fixation on Islam needs to stop. Let it exist without being distorted, aestheticized, or provoked for attention. If shock was the goal, congratulations, respect clearly wasn’t,” the comment concluded.

Others, however, defended Ratajkowski or praised her appearance.

“She’s got range,” one follower wrote, while another added, “Potato chips never looked so good.”

“It’s an Instagram dump, she’s not associating anything with religious imagery just cause they happen to be a slide apart in an Instagram photo dump, she isn’t hurting anyone,” another argued.

Mamdani was sworn in as New York City’s first Muslim mayor on January 1.