Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), or whoever had access to his Twitter account at the time, “liked” a hardcore porn video on Monday night.
The “like” disappeared early on Tuesday, and Cruz later said someone on his staff who had access to the account “inadvertently hit the like button.”
“It was not a deliberate act. We’re dealing with it internally, but it was a mistake. It was not malicious,” he continued.
The clip, which appeared in his likes, was from an account called “Sexuall Posts” and contained a 2:20 segment of a video from the adult video website Reality Kings. The account that posted the video promised “Full-Length HD Porn Posted Every Day.”
His communications director later noted the removal of the “like” early Tuesday:
The offensive tweet posted on @tedcruz account earlier has been removed by staff and reported to Twitter
— Catherine Frazier (@catblackfrazier) September 12, 2017
The incident caused “Sexuall Posts” to add ”@TedCruz’s Favorite Porn Account” to its bio, and the senator’s name to trend on Twitter. Some of the reaction:
Thanks for watching ted!
— Sexuall Posts 😈 (@SexuallPosts) September 12, 2017
Welp, time to trot off to bed knowing that the junior senator from Texas will see another scandal-free, low-stress day in the US Senate
— Ross Luippold (@rossluippold) September 12, 2017
This is the night that Ted Cruz became president.
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) September 12, 2017
[Ted Cruz wakes up in the morning and sees his notifications]
— Frederick Douglass (@HITEXECUTIVE) September 12, 2017
Ted Cruz: What happened?
Hillary: Funny you should ask. pic.twitter.com/2sLtXsfJmX
I suppose we all have our own ways of remembering 9/11, but I was taken aback by Ted Cruz's approach.
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) September 12, 2017
When you notice Ted Cruz liking twitter porn pic.twitter.com/DnzMw2ayJv
— Daniel M. Chick (@TheDukeWindsor) September 12, 2017
Nobody who works for or knows Ted Cruz cares enough to take down the porno tweet like, or to even inform him of it. Outstanding
— Patrick Monahan (@pattymo) September 12, 2017
It's truly inspiring to see Twitter put aside our petty differences, turn in unison and laugh at Ted Cruz.
— Luke Benson (@Mr_LukeBenson) September 12, 2017
Ted Cruz liking that tweet pic.twitter.com/asdHOrSP0X
— booboo the fool (@dearcorvo) September 12, 2017
It's the anniversary of 9/11 and I'm going to bed with the phrase "Ted Cruz jack sesh" stuck in my head. God I hate you, 2017.
— kevinbiegel (@kbiegel) September 12, 2017
Literally the most relatable and human thing Ted Cruz has ever done
— clipping (@clppng) September 12, 2017
Ted Cruz Doesn’t Believe You Have the Right to Masturbate https://t.co/nvfhYJ5N9r
— Eric Andre (@ericandre) September 12, 2017
Let's not porno-shame Ted Cruz. Let's shame him for being an asshole.
— Los Feliz Daycare (@LosFelizDaycare) September 12, 2017
Q: Why was Twitter invented?
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) September 12, 2017
A: Because one night in the future, Ted Cruz will fave a porn tweet and Twitter will reach perfection
Ted Cruz will say he got hacked, but... pic.twitter.com/VL3nAKOTc2
— Zach Braff (@zachbraff) September 12, 2017
Well done @TedCruz using the power of "like" to illustrate the evils of porn #Weiner pic.twitter.com/SQDPh1cRTp
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) September 12, 2017
Ted Cruz will now never forget 9/11.
— Tom Murphy (@tgagemurphy) September 12, 2017
Right Now: Ted Cruz Intern who forgot to switch back to his own twitter profile before his lunch break: pic.twitter.com/aGUAK8pt1a
— Hello, Friend (@MattsIdeaShop) September 12, 2017
This post has been updated to include a statement from Cruz as well as from his communications director.
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