California Democrat Brad Sherman defended himself Friday after social media users accused him of viewing pornographic content during a commercial flight, claiming the suggestive images appeared automatically on his X feed.
The 71-year-old congressman faced backlash when photos circulated showing him looking at his iPad screen displaying women in underwear and bikinis, Newsweek reported. The original X post garnered 11.9 million views as of this writing.
Sherman told Punchbowl News the images came from X’s “For You” page while browsing. “If I see a picture of a woman, might I look at it longer than a sunset? Yeah,” Sherman said. “I must’ve looked at more than 1,000 posts.”
The congressman blamed X’s algorithm for the content appearing on his feed while airborne. “Is it pornography? I don’t think Elon Musk thinks so,” Sherman said, though he admitted viewing such material in that setting was improper. “Is it appropriate? No.” (RELATED: Tech Company’s Personalized Porn Scheme Will Leave Young Men Worse Off Than Before)
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
X’s platform shows content on the “For You” page based on accounts that users follow and topics of interest, according to the company.
The incident sparked reactions from several political figures. Donald Trump Jr. posted “Yikes!!!!” while White House Communications Director Steven Cheung called Sherman a “total gooner.”
Sherman fired back at Cheung with “Bruh. Release the #EpsteinFiles,” referencing ongoing calls for transparency about Jeffrey Epstein documents.
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina used the controversy to address her own recent airport incident. “I don’t want to hear a single peep from anyone in/around Congress, or the media, abt how I stroll through an airport ever again,” Mace wrote.
She recently faced criticism for berating TSA personnel at a South Carolina airport.
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