SEX AND THE SCOTUS

MAGA’s Favorite Justice Alito Is Very Interested in Pornhub

The justice’s blunder prompted a host of dirty jokes and snarky responses.

Justice Samuel Alito sparked a flurry of quips for his quips during a Supreme Court hearing into a Texas law requiring age verification for pornography websites.

During the Wednesday proceeding, the justice asked attorneys representing the Free Speech Coalition if one of their clients, Pornhub, was “like the old Playboy.”

“You have essays on there by Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr.?” he said, referring to the two prominent American writers who penned serious political and cultural critiques for the magazine in the mid-20th century.

Alito’s query quickly went viral as users poked fun of his seemingly out of touch query.

“Well it is a place for stimulating engagement followed by heavy reflection,” comedian Jason Selvig posted on X.

“Alito is going to unintentionally revive a journalism niche we haven’t seen in decades,” one post on X read referencing Hugh Hefner’s original magazine model that combined longform reporting and writing with erotic content.

“Opening up pornhub like the morning paper,” another user wrote.

A separate post hypothesized that Alito was interested in reading erotica, claiming “Sammy Alito is a literotica guy.”

Meanwhile, some used Alito’s blunder to target fellow conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, urging Alito to “ask” his colleague, whose history with porn has been the source of several scandals.

Thomas was first accused of having an unhealthy relationship with pornography in 1991 by Anita Hill, who accused the jurist of sexual harassment. Her claims have since been bolstered by the justice’s former girlfriends and friends.

Although he has never addressed his porn consumption, Thomas has ruled in favor of pornographers, including Playboy, during his time on the bench, defending their constitutional right to show “indecent” programs on cable television, and voting multiple times against laws banned minors from watching online porn.

On Wednesday, however, Thomas signaled a potential shift from his porn-positive position. emphasizing how technology has shifted in the years following previous Supreme Court cases that protected access to pornography under the First Amendment.

“You would admit, though, that we’re in an entirely different world,” he said during the hearing. “Playboy was about squiggly lines on cable TV.”

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Lily Mae LazarusReporter

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.