The City Council candidate whose campaign flagged footage of his own BDSM session to The Post said Monday that he was trying to get ahead of a political rival plotting to use the clip against him — and that he’s not ashamed of his sexual proclivities.
Upper West Sider Zack Weiner, 26, said that the video — which shows him gagged as a leather-clad dominatrix ex pours hot wax on him and clips clothespins to his nipples — was already circulating on Twitter and attracting the attention of constituents and competitors when his campaign spoke up.
“There was concern raised by an opponent … reflecting on my poor judgment,” Weiner told The Post on Monday, declining to identify the race rival.
“I don’t feel that ultimately this is a wrong thing that I did. … That’s why I feel comfortable,” added Weiner of the BDSM session, explaining that he wanted “people to hear me articulate it, rather than my opponent.”
Joe Gallagher, Weiner’s campaign manager, added that he stands by the decision to take control of the narrative rather than allow it to be fodder against Weiner.
“We’d heard from candidates and constituents having seen it, so it was one of those things where I thought it would be a really good thing to reach out to a reporter to address it,” Gallagher said Monday. “We had no qualms with the way The Post handled it all.”
Though he previously identified himself as a “proud BDSMer,” Weiner said Monday that before the video surfaced he kept the kink among a tight circle of friends.
It was “not something I was very public with … [but] definitely not something I’d say that I find embarrassing,” he said.
Weiner said that he was aware that the steamy session with a then-girlfriend, which went down about 18 months ago in a dungeon at Midtown Manhattan’s Parthenon studio, was being recorded, but that he never expected the footage to see the light of day.
“That wasn’t a proclivity of mine and it’s definitely not the norm,” he said of the filming. “It was more to her taste, the person I was seeing at the time, to film recreationally.”
Weiner said that he believes that the former flame — whose identity he declined to disclose — shared the video among friends who are “also in the scene” when he launched his campaign, and that one of those friends leaked it onto social media.
“It’s certainly put a strain on the friendship,” said Weiner of his relationship with his ex, adding that he would “appreciate an apology,” and that he’s not ruled out legal action against whoever leaked it online.
While not ashamed of his kink, Weiner said that the incident has left him with second thoughts about letting partners hit “record” during intimate moments.
“Yeah, I’m giving a great pause,” he said.
Now, Weiner — who has a campaign rally scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at the Upper West Side’s Verdi Square to tout “start-up retail and universal basic investment”— is trying to juggle the dual pressures of a City Council race and the fallout of the video’s leak.
“They’ve stuck by [me] and been vocal,” said Weiner of his supporters and even some of his rivals in the District 6 race, including Maria Danzilo.
Also standing by Weiner’s side are a gal pal he’s recently started seeing — “She’s not decisively upset” over the video, he said — and his father, who is a co-creator of the beloved children’s show “Dora the Explorer.”
“On my father’s end, he’s more [concerned] from the ‘Dora’ angle … than on a personal level,” Weiner said.
“I’ve been pleasantly surprised it’s not a negative reaction,” he continued of the general reception, though noting, “I haven’t been to synagogue yet.”
Weiner, a former student at Manhattan’s elite Ramaz School — a Modern Orthodox Jewish institution — said that he’s still waiting to see how the salacious clip plays out among the religious community.
“A lot of my friends are married,” he said, noting that the story was picked up by the Jerusalem Post. “It’s a vivid departure from the dating stream.”
He added that he’s “been having flashbacks” about the rabbi who served as headmaster at his school, and is expecting to hear from him.
“That one’s a concern,” he said. “I’m waiting for the shoe drop.”