A sex scandal is a scandal involving allegations or information about possibly-immoral sexual activities being made public. Sex scandals are often associated with sexual affairs of film stars, politicians, famous athletes or others in the public eye, and become scandals largely because of the prominence of the person involved, perceptions of hypocrisy on their part, or the non-normative or non-consensual nature of their sexuality.A scandal may be based on reality, the product of false allegations, or a mixture of both.
Sex scandals involving politicians often become political scandals, particularly when there is an attempt at a cover-up, or suspicions of illegality.
1-Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, had an affair with Maria Reynolds while both were married to other people. Reynolds' husband blackmailed Hamilton who paid to maintain secrecy.
2-Thomas Jefferson, President, was publicly accused of fathering the children of his slave Sally Hemings, by journalist James Callender (who had also publicized Alexander Hamilton's affair) in the Jefferson–Hemings controversy.
3-Andrew Jackson, U.S. Congressman, U.S. Senator, territorial (or military) governor (appointed) of Florida, and later President of the United States, had married Rachel Donelson Jackson in 1791. Both of them believed her divorce from her abusive, alcoholic first husband, Lewis Robards, was final.
4-Eric Massa, Representative, resigned to avoid an ethics investigation into his admitted groping and tickling of multiple male staffers. He later stated on Fox News, "not only did I grope [a staffer], I tickled him until he couldn't breathe," (2010)
5-Mark Souder, Representative , a staunch advocate of abstinence and family values,resigned to avoid an ethics investigation into his admitted extramarital affair with a female staffer. (2010)
6-Chris Lee, Representative, resigned hours after a news report that he had sent a shirtless picture of himself flexing his muscles to a woman via Craigslist, along with flirtatious e-mails. He did not rely on a pseudonym or a false e-mail address but used his official Congressional e-mail for all communication.
7-Roy Moore U.S. Senate candidate in Alabama (R) was being accused by nine women of sexual misconduct with them when they were in their teens. The first of his accusers said that at the time, she was 14 years old, while he was 32. Moore lost a special election for Alabama Senate following these accusations.
8-Al Franken Senator, was accused by radio newscaster Leeann Tweeden of forcibly kissing her as part of a skit and later groping her without consent during a U.S.O. tour in 2006. Tweeden produced photo evidence of the grope, taken by Franken when Tweeden was asleep. Franken admitted to the allegations and apologized for his actions and then resigned.
9-David Sorensen, White House Speechwriter, resigned as a result of allegations by his ex-wife, that he was violent and emotionally abusive during their turbulent 2½ -year marriage. Sorenson denied the charges, but resigned his position.(2018)