
The U.S. Senate isn’t exactly known for pop-culture gossip. But Louisiana Senator John Kennedy briefly turned Capitol Hill into a comedy show when he claimed with a straight face that Ted Cruz has a Backstreet Boys tattoo.
The bizarre moment unfolded during an October 2025 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, when Attorney General Pam Bondi was testifying. Texas Senator Cruz was midway through a typically serious exchange about national security when he decided to lighten things up, giving a plug for Kennedy’s new book, How to Test Negative for Stupid.