September 12, 2017

Ted Cruz Tries to Explain Why His Twitter Account Liked an Explicit Porn Video

“It was a staffing issue.”

Tom Williams/ZUMA

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

A late-night Republican Twitter happening is making headlines this morning—and it’s got nothing do with Donald Trump.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz became the subject of a series of awkward jokes—and collective revulsion—late on Monday, after his Twitter account was seen liking an explicit porn video from the account @SexuallPosts. The video, which is NSFW and can be viewed here, featured a woman walking into her sun-drenched home to discover two strangers casually having sex on a couch. The woman then proceeds to masturbate to the unexpected scene unfolding in her living room.

With the jokes pouring in, Catherine Frazier, a communications adviser for Cruz, took to her own account to say that the like had been removed and reported. Her statement appeared to suggest the activity was the result of a hack.

But many on Twitter questioned who would hack into an account merely to like such an explicit video. 

The overnight Twitter action comes with some irony: While serving as Texas solicitor general, Cruz argued in a long-running federal trial that the use of sex toys was tantamount to “hiring a willing prostitute or engaging in consensual bigamy.” While running for president in 2016, he decried Trump’s “New York values.”

Update, 11:30 a.m.: Ted Cruz told reporters that a “staffing issue” caused the controversy. He said, “It was inadvertent. It was a mistake, it was not a deliberate action.” 

Don’t just click away.

We need your help. We’re halfway through our Summer Membership Drive, and only $35,000 toward our $200,000 goal. But there’s good news: This week only, every donation will be doubled, up to $50,000, thanks to a generous reader.

That’s twice the impact for intrepid reporting that peels back the layers to publish the truth—and the context you need to break it all down. It’s twice the fuel for investigations on voting rights and justice, critical in this midterm election year. And it’s twice the power for exposing the chaos and corruption of a White House trying to control the narrative.

This is a pivotal moment in our nation, with democracy on the line, and we can only do this work because readers like you step up. Every donation, of any amount, makes a difference here. And every donation will be doubled.

We cannot do this work without you. Join the fight. Double your donation to defend democracy.

Don’t just click away.

We need your help. We’re halfway through our Summer Membership Drive, and only $35,000 toward our $200,000 goal. But there’s good news: This week only, every donation will be doubled, up to $50,000, thanks to a generous reader.

That’s twice the impact for intrepid reporting that peels back the layers to publish the truth—and the context you need to break it all down. It’s twice the fuel for investigations on voting rights and justice, critical in this midterm election year. And it’s twice the power for exposing the chaos and corruption of a White House trying to control the narrative.

This is a pivotal moment in our nation, with democracy on the line, and we can only do this work because readers like you step up. Every donation, of any amount, makes a difference here. And every donation will be doubled.

We cannot do this work without you. Join the fight. Double your donation to defend democracy.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

INDEPENDENT. BECAUSE OF YOU.

Mother Jones has no billionaires calling the shots—just readers like you making fearless reporting possible

Donate