Indian-Origin Health Advisor Jay Verma Fired After Bragging About Sex Parties in Viral Video

New York: A former New York City official, Dr. Jay Varma, who helped coordinate the city's response to the pandemic, has been fired from his private sector job following the emergence of a video showing his involvement in drug-fueled sex parties.

Varma, who previously served as a senior health adviser under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, was captured bragging about attending underground drug-fueled sex parties while the city was under strict lockdowns. These revelations were made public through secretly recorded conversations.

Podcaster Steven Crowder shared hidden camera footage of Varma boasting about attending sex parties during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The former COVID-19 czar of New York City was terminated from his position as the executive and chief medical officer at pharmaceutical company SIGA Technologies.

SIGA Technologies issued a statement confirming Varma's immediate termination on September 23, stating, “Under the terms of his employment agreement, Dr. Varma's service on the Company's Board of Directors also automatically ended effective immediately.”

Varma served as senior public health adviser to New York Mayor Bill de Blasio from April 2020 to May 2021.

What Does the Video Reveal?

Varma was seen speaking to an unknown woman and bragging about attending sex parties: “I did all this deviant, like sexual stuff,” and admitted it would be embarrassing if the news got out.

The doctor even confessed to hosting a party in August 2020 where attendees used MDMA.

“So we rented a hotel … we all took, like, you know, Molly and like it was like eight or nine of us, eight to 10 of us were in a room and everybody had a blast because everybody was like so pent up,” he said.

“We went to some underground, like, dance parties… and we were all rolling. We were all taking Molly [MDMA]. Everybody was high,” Varma was heard saying in the leaked video.

He admitted that these parties were not “COVID-friendly,” and that he participated in such events to cope with the stress of his high-pressure job.

“I did all this deviant, sexual stuff while I was on TV and people were like, ‘Aren’t you afraid? Aren’t you embarrassed?’” he said in the edited recording. “And I was like, no, I really like being my authentic self.”

On Tuesday, Varma acknowledged his actions in a statement, writing, “I take responsibility for not using the best judgment at the time,” adding that the recordings were from private conversations that had been “secretly recorded, spliced, diced, and taken out of context.”

City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov condemned Dr. Varma's actions, stating, “While grandmothers took their last breaths alone on cold hospital beds, Dr. Varma was fulfilling his sick fantasies with hundreds of sweaty strangers.”

(With AP Inputs)