Jay Varma, health adviser behind NYC's COVID policy, partied during the pandemic – NBC New York

Videos of secretly recorded conversations with New York City's former COVID commissioner show that Dr. Jay Varma attended sex parties and an underground dance club at the height of the pandemic while instructing New Yorkers to stay home and social distance. Those admissions have led to calls from City Council members for an investigation into the health official's actions during the health crisis.

Excerpts from those conversations with Varma were shared this week by conservative podcaster Steven Crowder. In the videos, Varma appears to confide in a woman off-camera about his outrageous decisions in light of the extreme safety messages being sent to the city.

In the video, Varma, a senior health adviser under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, can be heard saying he took part in a dance under a bench on Wall Street attended by several hundred people.

“We were all on the ball, we all took Molly [MDMA]and everyone is high. And I was happy because I hadn't done that in about a year and a half,” says Varma, relieved that no one seems to have recognized him. “If someone sees me, they'll be mad.”

The video, which is heavily edited and jumps back and forth, shows snippets from what appear to be at least three different conversations with Varma, then moves on to a discussion of sex parties in which the former health czar describes renting a hotel room to host a gathering of eight or nine people. He said that party took place in August during the first COVID summer.

Many New Yorkers may know Varma from his regular participation in de Blasio's COVID briefings, where he provided public health guidance and assisted the mayor in developing health policy.

“I was doing all this kinky, sexual stuff while I was, you know, on TV and stuff,” Varma explained in another part of the video. “People were like, 'Aren't you scared? Aren't you embarrassed?' and I was like, 'No, actually, that's the way I am, I love being my authentic self.'”

Varma released a statement on Thursday strongly condemning the “targeted” recording operation by a “right-wing organisation”, but also acknowledging the controversial measures he had taken at the time.

“In these private conversations, which were secretly recorded, edited, fragmented and taken out of context, I referred to events that occurred four years ago. I served at City Hall between April 2020 and May 2021. During that time, I attended two private meetings. I take responsibility for not exercising my best judgment at the time,” Varma wrote.

“I stand by my efforts to get New Yorkers vaccinated against COVID-19 and oppose dangerous extremist efforts to undermine public confidence in the necessity and effectiveness of vaccines.”

The revelations have prompted current city officials to call for a formal investigation into Varma's confessions. Councilman Robert Holden, who represents parts of Queens, wrote to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and NYPD interim Commissioner Thomas Donlin, urging them to look into the matter.

“As an architect of key COVID-19 measures, including curfews, bans on large gatherings, and restrictions on indoor food preparation, Dr. Varma was responsible for enforcing the very rules he appears to have personally violated,” Holden emphasizes in his letter.

Holden points out that Varma's participation in activities that are in direct conflict with city regulations and public health guidelines is reminiscent of similar missteps by Boris Johnson, who was caught breaking his own COVID gathering rules.

In a statement seeking comment, City Hall distanced itself from Varma, noting that his tenure with the city ended in May 2021.

“Dr. Varma is not and never has been a member of the current administration. The City's Health Department has done everything humanly possible to protect New Yorkers from COVID-19 and continues to protect and keep New Yorkers safe under the leadership of Mayor Adams,” the spokesperson said.

NBC New York has reached out to de Blasio for comment.