US Politician Caught Viewing Explicit Images on Flight, Blames Elon Musk’s Algorithm

Brad Sherman, a U.S. Congressman, has issued a statement after being photographed looking at explicit images on his iPad during a recent flight. Photos taken by fellow passengers quickly went viral across social media.

The images of the 71-year-old Democratic lawmaker appearing to view “pornographic” content were posted on X by the account Dear White Staffers, where the post amassed over 15 million views along with thousands of shares and comments.

“Why did California Congressman Brad Sherman feel it was appropriate to look at porn on his iPad during a flight today? His district deserves better representation than this!!” the account captioned the post.

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Why did California Congressman Brad Sherman feel it was appropriate to look at porn on his iPad during a flight today? His district deserves better representation than this!! #CA32 pic.twitter.com/gAYZ82tyr2

— Dear White Staffers (@dearwhitestaff) November 14, 2025 >

In the viral pictures, Sherman is seen staring at images of women in lingerie with his screen brightness fully visible to surrounding passengers.

Sherman Responds

Sherman denied intentionally viewing pornographic material and instead blamed the X (formerly Twitter) algorithm under Elon Musk’s ownership for pushing explicit content onto users’ feeds.

“This was nothing more than scrolling through Twitter — and unfortunately Elon Musk has ruined the Twitter algorithm to give people content they don’t ask for or subscribe to,” his spokesperson told The Post.

Speaking to Punchbowl News, Sherman said the images appeared in the “For You” section of his X feed.

“This was on Twitter. These pictures came up on ‘For You,’” he explained.

While defending himself further, he added: “If you have to fly across the country, you look at a lot of stuff on your tablet. I must’ve looked at more than 1,000 posts. If I see a picture of a woman, might I look at it longer than a sunset? Yeah.”

When asked whether such content should be openly viewed on a plane, Sherman replied, “Is it pornography? I don’t think Elon Musk thinks so. Is it appropriate? No.”