A Democratic congressman was photographed looking at sexually explicit images on his iPad while on a commercial flight, drawing immediate backlash from passengers and millions of social media users. California Rep. Brad Sherman, 71, was seen in photos circulating online appearing to view images of scantily clad women in suggestive poses while seated on the plane.

An X user who first posted the pictures wrote, “Why did California Congressman Brad Sherman feel it was appropriate to look at porn on his iPad during a flight today?”

The user added, “His district deserves better representation than this!!”

Congressman Brad Sherman looks at porn on his iPad during a flight

Going insanely viral with 5.4M views already on the post:https://t.co/L2VgRhoss6

— Kongo(Winter arc) (@zerd0_) November 15, 2025

The post included three photos of Sherman with his mouth open as he stared at the content on his screen.

Hours later, Sherman acknowledged that he had been looking at the images but insisted he was scrolling through his feed and not intentionally searching for explicit material.

“If I see a picture of a woman, might I look at it longer than a sunset? Yeah,” Sherman said in an interview with Punchbowl News.

Sherman said he had been on X’s “For you” page when the photos were taken.

He said, “I must’ve looked at more than 1000 posts.”

According to X, the “For you” page displays posts based on algorithmic recommendations tied to accounts a user follows or topics of interest.

Sherman said the sexualized images appeared mid-flight “because of the algorithms.”

He added, “Is it pornography? I don’t think Elon Musk thinks so.”

Sherman also conceded that his behavior was inappropriate, saying, “Is it appropriate? No.”

Social media users reacted sharply, criticizing the congressman for openly viewing sexualized content in a crowded cabin.

One user wrote, “With the screen brightness ALL the way up. Not an ounce of shame.”

Another posted a facepalm emoji and said, “Get a privacy screen.”

A third user wrote, “This is killing me.”

The photos quickly drew attention from members of former President Trump’s team.

Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, posted a close-up of Sherman’s expression and wrote, “Bruh. What a total gooner.”

“Bruh. What a total gooner.”

Rep. Nancy Mace also weighed in, comparing the situation to criticism she faced last month after she was accused of berating law enforcement officers at a South Carolina airport.

Mace wrote, “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 response to the criticism, Sherman deflected by calling on the administration to “release the Epstein Files.”