Social media erupted this week after footage emerged of New York Mayor Eric Adams’ son hosting a risqué holiday party at Gracie Mansion, featuring a go-go dancer in a sparkly gray bodysuit performing provocative moves behind him while he rapped.
The videos, which flooded Instagram, showed Jordan Coleman, performing under his rap moniker Jayoo, rapping while the dancer twisted, turned, and shook her body like an exotic dancer as dozens of guests recorded on their phones.
When Queens Media NYC’s Instagram post of the event went up, one scathing comment read, “This can’t be real.”
“He’s about as good at music as his dad is at politics… utter [poop emoji],” wrote one social media user in response to footage from Coleman’s party.
Another commented, “Saturday Night Live is making a skit as we watch,” while others shook their virtual head in disgust, remarking, “David Dinkins rolling in his grave.”
Dinkins was the first Black mayor of New York City from 1990 through 1993, and Adams is the second in its 400-year history.
Some comments looked at the spectacular and were mindful of stereotypes facing Black politicians, noting, “This is what they thought Obama was going to do at the white house.”
The cocktail-attire-required soiree at the taxpayer-funded mayoral residence comes at a particularly sensitive time for the Adams administration.
The mayor’s office is already reeling from the Mayor’s unsealed indictment where he was accused of “abusing his position as this City’s highest elected official, and before that as Brooklyn Borough President, to take bribes and solicit illegal campaign contributions,” according to the DOJ.
It also comes on the heels of his chief adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, being indicted in a complex bribery scheme, ironically connected to her son, a hip-hop DJ.
Ingrid Lewis-Martin enters the courtroom for her arraignment. pic.twitter.com/J5AMWighfY
— Josie Stratman (@JosieStratman) December 19, 2024
As the second most senior official in City Hall, Lewis-Martin was charged for allegedly using her position to “illegally influence Department of Buildings and other city decisions” in exchange for benefits, including $100,000 for a new Porsche for her son, Glenn Martin II, aka DJ Suave Luciano, according to The New York Times.
The indictment reveals an elaborate scheme involving two businessmen, Mayank Dwivedi and Raizada Vaid, who sought help with expediting construction projects through the city’s Buildings Department. Prosecutors, using wiretapped phone conversations as evidence, accused Lewis-Martin and her son of agreeing to accept financial support for both a clothing line and a Chick-fil-A franchise in exchange for her assistance with their projects.
“I can’t believe he’d throw a party at a time like this,” one Democratic source told the New York Post, referring to the multiple scandals facing the administration.
City Hall defended the event, stating that Gracie Mansion is the mayor’s residence and Coleman was simply hosting a party as any child would in their parent’s home, adding that he covered all costs for food, alcohol, and staff.
Jordan also, the Post reports, used the home to record music on 9/11 during the time his dad and others were commemorating those lost in the 2001 terrorist attack on the city. Again, the administration had to put out fires for what seemed to be either a middle finger to the world or tone deafness to his father’s political position.
The party has also reignited attention on the father-son conflict over rap music. Mayor Adams has publicly denounced drill rap, Coleman’s chosen genre, for its association with street violence.
In 2022, following the death of 18-year-old drill rapper Chii Wvttz, Adams called for a ban on drill rap, saying, “I had no idea what drill rapping was. My son sent me videos. It was alarming.”
Coleman publicly challenged his father’s stance saying in a Complex interview, “Coming out saying that the drill scene is going to be banned is outrageous because you can’t ban a genre of music.”
While acknowledging his father’s safety concerns, Coleman defended the culture, noting, “It’s a tricky situation because that’s what that culture consists of.”
As videos of the holiday party continue to circulate, one Instagram comment seemed to capture the political implications: “Guess who’s definitely not getting re elected.”
The incident adds another layer of controversy to an administration already reeking with scandal, raising questions about the appropriate use of the mayoral residence and the image being projected by New York City’s highest office.
