A prominent American Democrat congressman has found himself at the centre of a major controversy after being photographed viewing sexually explicit photographs on his iPad during a commercial flight, shocking a fellow passenger.
Mid-Flight Scandal Erupts
California Congressman Brad Sherman, who represents the state's 32nd congressional district, was captured in images shared on social media platform X apparently looking at scantily-clad women in suggestive poses. The photos were taken by a disgusted passenger who witnessed the 71-year-old lawmaker's behaviour.
The social media user who originally shared the images directly challenged Sherman's judgement, posting: '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 post featured three separate photos showing Sherman engrossed in the explicit content.
Sherman's Defence and Admission
Facing mounting criticism, Sherman admitted to viewing the pictures in an interview with Punchbowl News hours after the incident went viral. However, the veteran politician insisted he hadn't been purposefully viewing pornographic content, claiming he was merely scrolling through his tablet when the images appeared.
'If I see a picture of a woman, might I look at it longer than a sunset?' Sherman conceded to the outlet. 'Yeah.' The Democrat lawmaker explained he had actually been browsing X's 'For you' page when photographed, adding: 'I must've looked at more than 1000 posts.'
According to X's own description, the 'For you' page features posts 'based on recommendations of accounts you follow or topics you're interested.' Sherman directly blamed algorithms for the sexualised pictures surfacing on his feed mid-flight, though he notably commented: 'Is it pornography? I don't think Elon Musk thinks so.'
Political Fallout and Public Reaction
Despite his attempts to explain the situation, Sherman acknowledged his behaviour had been inappropriate. 'Is it appropriate? No,' the congressman admitted during his interview.
Online users expressed astonishment at the senior Democrat's actions, particularly noting his apparent lack of discretion. One X user observed: 'With the screen brightness ALL the way up. Not an ounce of shame.' Another commenter suggested practical solutions, writing: 'Get a privacy screen,' while a third simply stated: 'This is killing me.'
The controversy quickly attracted attention from political opponents, including Donald Trump's inner circle. Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, posted a close-up of Sherman's agape mouth with the caption: 'Bruh. What a total gooner.'
Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace drew comparisons to her own recent controversy involving law enforcement at a South Carolina airport, posting on X: 'I don't want to hear a single peep from anyone in/around Congress, or the media, [about] how I stroll through an airport ever again...'
In a surprising response to being called out for his inappropriate behaviour, Sherman shifted focus by calling for the Trump administration to 'release the Epstein Files.'
Brad Sherman, who has served in Congress since 1997 and has been photographed alongside prominent figures including former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, now faces serious questions about his judgement and conduct while representing his California constituents.
