The Atlantic Defends Health Officials Who Threw Sex Parties While New Yorkers Died Alone During Lockdowns

While New Yorkers wept at the windows of nursing homes and held virtual vigils, health officials—those supposed stewards of public health—lived out a grotesque double standard. They reveled in their elitist exemptions, partying while the city they claimed to protect suffered alone.

The Atlantic article, which details instances of health officials engaging in risky, mask-free behavior, focuses on a series of events that occurred at exclusive venues in New York City, and the details are appalling. Amid the roar of public health messaging that vilified activities like visiting a dying parent, visiting a disabled child, or holding a small wedding, some of these so-called experts were flaunting their immunity to the rules by attending crowded sex parties that could only be described as blatant mockery of the sacrifices everyone else was forced to make.

In particular, the behavior of Dr. Jay Varma, New York City’s former senior public health adviser during the height of the pandemic, who was instrumental in crafting the city's lockdown and social distancing policies, admitted to attending two private sex parties in August and November 2020 while advising New Yorkers to strictly follow public health guidelines. He justified his actions by saying he needed a way to "blow off steam," even as he publicly pushed for stringent restrictions on gatherings and travel.

Remarkably, the writer for The Atlantic actually tries to spin the story so that the problem isn't Varma's obvious cruelty, hypocrisy, or dishonesty. According to her, the problem is that he wasn't more "transparent" about the sex parties.

However, for those familiar with The Atlantic's style of "journalism," this insane take isn't really that surprising.

Varma was also caught on video bragging about attending a 200-plus person dance party in June 2021, after his official role ended but while he was still consulting for the city on Covid policies. This behavior contrasts with his public stance during the pandemic when he helped enforce some of the strictest rules in the country, including mandates that kept people from visiting dying loved ones in hospitals. Despite admitting to these actions, Varma still defended himself and criticized those who questioned public health mandates.

It’s not just the glaring hypocrisy that stings—it’s the cruel disregard for the suffering of millions. Remember the stories of New Yorkers unable to see their loved ones in hospitals, of families barred from holding funerals, of elderly individuals wasting away in nursing homes, alone and terrified? Meanwhile, the very officials pushing these brutal restrictions were treating the pandemic like a joke—one that didn’t apply to them.

New York City's Pandemic Cruelty

New York City, in particular, suffered from some of the most extreme, Democrat-enforced restrictions. Hospitals were overwhelmed, and residents lived in constant fear. The city’s elderly and sick were the most vulnerable, and stringent rules meant that families were often kept apart during their darkest moments. Imagine the pain of watching a loved one die over FaceTime because you weren’t allowed to be by their side. Imagine the despair of mourning alone, cut off from the comfort of human connection, because “experts” insisted it was too dangerous. Perhaps worst of all, research has shown that all of these "safety measures" saved barely any lives.

The revelation that health officials were partying while the city was locked down adds a new layer of outrage. One New York resident, Mary Ellis, whose mother died alone in a Manhattan hospital, expressed her disgust: “I was told I couldn’t hold my mother’s hand in her last moments, but these people were out there partying? It’s beyond betrayal. It’s evil.”

These were not merely bad choices—they were active, intentional acts that spat in the face of every New Yorker who followed the rules. When average citizens were browbeaten into submission, guilted into isolating themselves and cutting off contact with their support networks, these officials were doing the exact opposite.

The Fake Moral Superiority

The lockdown advocates in power positioned themselves as examples of morality and responsibility. They relentlessly shamed dissenters, painted protestors as selfish, and insisted that any questioning of their measures was "endangering" public health. Yet behind closed doors, they were engaged in behavior that was far riskier than anything they accused the public of doing. This isn’t just hypocrisy—it’s moral fraud. The lockdowns were enforced not with evidence-based public health considerations but with a thin veneer of moral superiority. And those same elites had no problem tearing off their masks and gathering in secret when they thought no one was looking.

Now, as these stories come to light, the question remains: Will there be accountability? Will those who ruthlessly enforced rules on the public and broke them in private face any consequences? So far, the answer seems bleak. For those who supported these mandates, there should be a reckoning—and at the very least, a public acknowledgment that they were wrong, that they misled millions, and that they failed to live up to the standards they set for everyone else.

For many Americans, this latest revelation is not just another scandal; it’s a wake-up call to scrutinize the motives and actions of those who wield power over public life. The real tragedy of the lockdowns isn’t just the economic ruin, the psychological toll, or the societal fragmentation—it’s the profound human loss compounded by a betrayal of public trust.

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