Anthony Weiner Jokes About Sexting Scandal in Bold NYC Council Comeback Bid

Anthony Weiner, the former congressman whose career imploded in a sexting scandal, is eyeing a political comeback, running for New York City Council while cracking jokes about his notorious past. In a recent interview with comedian Adam Friedland, Weiner, now a registered sex offender after serving 21 months in prison, boldly claimed, "Women are crazy about me." The quip came when asked if political power boosts allure, a nod to his scandal-ridden history that began over a decade ago with a lewd photo posted to his public social media.

That 2011 incident sparked a chain reaction: Weiner resigned from Congress, faced further sexting allegations, and landed in legal hot water for sending explicit images to a minor, triggering an FBI probe. That investigation, by the way, stumbled onto emails that led then-FBI Director James Comey to briefly reopen the Hillary Clinton email server case—a domino effect Weiner likely didn’t foresee when he hit 'send.' Reflecting on the media frenzy, Weiner mused that his surname didn’t help: "I’m a guy named Weiner who tweeted out a picture of his d---." Talk about a branding problem.

During the YouTube-based chat, Friedland downplayed the scandal’s weight in today’s fast-moving news cycle, suggesting it wouldn’t crack 2025’s top 100 stories. Weiner agreed, noting the early 2010s were a "relatively slow news period." He also took a jab at former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, implying Gaetz’s own allegations of misconduct with a minor got less attention because his name lacked the unfortunate punch of Weiner’s. Friedland pushed back, arguing the story would fizzle in 48 hours today. Weiner, unimpressed, dismissed the tech-angle as old news.

Weiner’s campaign for Manhattan’s East Side District 2 in the Democratic primary is a bold move for a man whose name is often confused with another scandal-plagued New Yorker, Eliot Spitzer. He fielded questions about prison life, registering as a sex offender, and his ties with New York Democrats, all while keeping the tone light. But behind the humor lies a stark reality: can a figure so tied to scandal convince voters to trust him again?