Mayor Adams did an hourlong interview with Sneako, a streamer who has made remarks many consider antisemitic. The conservative influencer Amber Rose was also present.
As Mayor Eric Adams nears the end of his first term, he has embraced a somewhat unorthodox media strategy for a New York City Democrat, appearing regularly on Fox News and with other conservative outlets.
On Saturday, Mr. Adams took things a step further. He participated in an hour-plus interview with Sneako, a conservative online content creator who has faced bans from YouTube and Twitch for spreading misinformation and comments deemed as antisemitic.
During the interview, conducted on the porch of Gracie Mansion, Mr. Adams sat on a patio sofa and smoked cigars with Amber Rose, a conservative influencer, OnlyFans model and a former paramour of Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. His son, Jordan Coleman, sat nearby.
Mr. Adams did not say anything that seemed a departure from most of his recent stances, but it was not what he said that drew criticism; it was that he said it to Sneako, whose real name is Nicolas Kenn De Balinthazy. A day before the interview, Sneako wrote that “Israel is not compatible with Western civilization” on the social media site X.
Representative Ritchie Torres, Democrat of the Bronx, said Sneako was “one of the most virulent antisemites in the world of alternative media.”
“There is no excuse for the mayor meeting with him, let alone gracing him with cigars at Gracie Mansion,” he said.
