Recommendations of the Editorial team
Zohran Mamdani is officially a bunhead – and Kim Petras has a tempting offer for her new fan that revolves around animal rights. On Monday, the mayor-elect of New York City shared his enthusiasm for Petras in Interview magazine. To which the pop star responded with a suggestion. A copy of their as-yet-unreleased album in exchange for a ban on horse-drawn carriages in Central Park.
“Zohran Mamdani, I am ready to privately send you my new album if we manage to ban the horse-drawn carriages from Central Park,” Petras wrote on X.
Attached to her post was a screenshot from Mamdani’s conversation with “Interview” editor-in-chief Mel Ottenberg, in which the future mayor called Petras’ latest single “I Like Ur Look” a “great song.”
Petras reacts with humor and political demands
Petras responded to her own post with a screenshot of a YouTube video titled “Mamdani makes transition announcement.” And added: “The signs have always been there…”. A joking reference to her identity as a trans woman.
Mamdani had previously acknowledged the “significant problem” of horse-drawn carriages in Central Park, and a possible ban was one of the few issues on which all New York City mayoral candidates in 2025 agreed during the otherwise heated campaign. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mamdani’s main rival, summed it up this way in September. “This is the one issue we all agree on. Let’s free the horses.”
Mamdani’s previous position on horse-drawn carriages
At a campaign event in early October, Mamdani said he wanted to “visit the stables himself.” And set up a panel to “assess the health of these horses” before deciding what the next step should be. Mamdani added that he plans to work with unions and community leaders to reach a “fair solution.”
In a statement to Rolling Stone, PETA Director Ashley Byrne praised Petras’ commitment to horses in New York City.
“Kim’s wishes reflect the sentiments of the majority of New Yorkers, including Zohran’s supporters,” Byrne said. “We hope his administration ushers in a new era for New York City in which the gruesome spectacle of horses collapsing from illness and exhaustion, having bloody collisions with cars and making dangerous escapes through Central Park becomes a distant, shameful and embarrassing memory.”
Mamdani’s music taste and previous fan moments
In the December 29 interview with Mamdani, the politician was asked about his hype playlist. “I want to hear Kim Petras or Lil Wayne or Madonna for some reason,” he said. “It doesn’t really make sense at eight in the morning.”
It’s not the first time that Mamdani has shared his love for Petras’ music. Last month, a clip of him asking a DJ to play Kim Petras went viral. Distributed on TikTok and X.
Representatives for Mamdani and Petras did not immediately respond to ROLLING STONE’s requests for comment.