'Go back to where you were born, Mamdani': Actor Robert Davi slams NYC mayor over city map

"Die Hard" and "Licence to Kill" actor Robert Davi has sharply criticised New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani after a city map highlighting immigrant neighbourhoods left out Little Italy, triggering backlash from Italian-American groups.

The controversy began after the "New York City Immigrant Enclaves" map resurfaced on social media earlier this week.

Critics pointed out that the map identified 30 immigrant communities across New York City's five boroughs but omitted Little Italy, as well as several historically Jewish and Irish neighbourhoods.

Davi attacks Mamdani over map

Davi, 75, who was born in Astoria, Queens, posted a video on social media platform X, in which he strongly criticised Mamdani for what he described as disrespecting the city's Italian-American community.

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Calling the mayor a "jerk," Davi said, "I hope every New York Italian American and Irish American spits on you when they see you. I would spit on you if I saw you. Shame on you, you garbage man. Shame on you. Respect the city you're in and understand the people who helped build it."

The actor also spoke about his own family's immigrant history, saying his grandparents came from Sicily and Naples.

"My grandparents came from Sicily and Naples and they taught me, speak the English. This is America. God bless America," he said.

Davi added that his grandfather fought for the United States during World War I and later helped build New York City as an Italian immigrant.

'Go back to where you were born'

The actor went on to make personal remarks against Mamdani, describing him as a "leftist Marxist Communist" and suggesting that he should leave the United States.

"Go back to where you were born, Mamdani. You don't belong in America," Davi said.

Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, and moved to the United States with his family when he was seven years old.

Davi also suggested there should be a constitutional amendment preventing people born outside the United States from holding public office unless they had lived in the country for at least a generation.

City says map will be updated

According to a report by Fox News, responding to the criticism, the mayor's office referred to comments Mamdani made during a press conference on Friday.

Mamdani said the map had originally been created by the previous city administration in 2023 and that his administration had only added a few more neighbourhoods after taking office.

"This map was initially created by the prior administration in 2023, and when we inherited it, we added a few additional neighborhoods," he said, as reported by Fox News.

"It's clearly not an exhaustive list of the more than 200 ethnic communities that call our city home, and we're going to be making additional changes in the future to reflect that, and that includes Little Italy."