Politics & Government

UWS Candidate Praised For Response To Leaked Dominatrix Video

More than 80,000 people have shown their support of an UWS candidate's response to a NY Post article about a leaked intimate moment.

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Gus Saltonstall, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
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The NY Post wrote a story this weekend about a leaked video of UWS council candidate Zach Weiner. His response has gone viral on Twitter.
The NY Post wrote a story this weekend about a leaked video of UWS council candidate Zach Weiner. His response has gone viral on Twitter. (Courtesy of the Committee to Elect Zack Weiner For City Council)

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The Upper West Side City Council race has already seen its fair share of twists and turns, but the praise one of the lesser-known candidates is receiving for his handling of a New York Post article about leaked personal footage of himself enjoying a session with a dominatrix has to be the most unexpected.

On Saturday, the Post published a story entitled — "Manhattan City Council candidate caught with dominatrix in leaked video."

That candidate is Zack Weiner, a 26-year-old screenwriter and actor who is running for District 6 to replace the term-limited Helen Rosenthal.

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The article's lead image is of Weiner tied up, shirtless, and gagged with a dominatrix standing behind him.

The footage of the interaction that took place in 2019 was leaked onto Twitter and then flagged to the Post by Weiner's campaign manager Joe Gallagher.

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Less than an hour after the Post published its article, Weiner took to Twitter to share his own response to the footage.

"Whoops. I didn't want anyone to see that, but here we are," Weiner wrote. "I didn't want anyone to see that, but here we are. I am not ashamed of the private video circulating of me on Twitter. This was a recreational activity that I did with my friend at the time, for fun. Like many young people, I have grown into a world where some of our most private moments have been documented online."

The response has gone viral. Garnering an eye-popping 80,000 likes on Twitter as of Monday midday.

The overwhelming amount of comments on the tweet are in support of Weiner's handling of his leaked personal footage.

"It's definitely a violation of trust," Weiner told the Post as he refused to name the woman in the video.

Weiner is holding a campaign rally at 6 p.m. Monday at Verdi Square on 72nd Street and Broadway.

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