--- title: Ted Cruz Makes Zodiac Killer Joke, Internet Reacts description: A incident in which Sen. Ben Sasse accidentally spilled a Dr. Pepper on Sen. Ted Cruz during sparked an all-out political meme melee. canonical: https://time.com/4989359/ted-cruz-zodiac-killer-joke-internet-reactions/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-19T15:41:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:57:45.774Z og:title: The Internet Is Canceled Thanks to Ted Cruz's Zodiac Killer Joke og:description: "We had a good run, y’all - the Internet was fun - but it is done now" og:url: https://time.com/4989359/ted-cruz-zodiac-killer-joke-internet-reactions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte1fd0f99a930b03d/6988e2980a4a22567c9d0664/ted-cruz-zodiac.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: U.S. President Donald Trump Hosts Members of the U.S. Congress at the White House og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Internet Is Canceled Thanks to Ted Cruz's Zodiac Killer Joke twitter:description: "We had a good run, y’all - the Internet was fun - but it is done now" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte1fd0f99a930b03d/6988e2980a4a22567c9d0664/ted-cruz-zodiac.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Internet Is Canceled Thanks to Ted Cruz's Zodiac Killer Joke > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=3ac96032-234b-4ec3-8d9d-ab33ea8fed2c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Ted Cruz’s Twitter Account ‘Liked’ a Porn Tweet and the Internet Had Plenty to Say [Watch (HLS stream): Ted Cruz’s Twitter Account ‘Liked’ a Porn Tweet and the Internet Had Plenty to Say](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/38q1Aypx.m3u8) (1:01)  _Published 2017-09-12. The Twitter account of Texas Senator Ted Cruz apparently “liked” a porongraphic video on Sexuall Posts Twitter account._  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Oct 19, 2017 3:41 PM UTC The Twitter account of Texas Senator Ted Cruz apparently “liked” a porongraphic video on Sexuall Posts Twitter account.  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Oct 19, 2017 3:41 PM UTC A Wednesday incident in which [Sen. Ben Sasse](http://time.com/4822418/ben-sasse-nickelback-newsletter/) accidentally spilled a Dr. Pepper on [Sen. Ted Cruz](http://time.com/4937060/ted-cruz-twitter-like-porn-reactions/) during [Attorney General Jeff Sessions’](http://time.com/4987376/jeff-sessions-senate-hearing/) Senate hearing sparked an all-out political meme melee. After Sasse tweeted a reference to the [conspiracy theory](http://time.com/4316494/lee-harvey-oswald-donald-trump/) that links Cruz’s father to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in response to a [user who wrote](https://twitter.com/njh2005/status/920697138924916736), “If I were sitting with the son of the guy who killed Kennedy I might do worse than spill some Dr. Pepper,” Cruz supplied a viral joke of his own. “Full disclosure: I was wearing my ‘Lee Harvey Oswald Was Framed’ t-shirt,” Sasse wrote, prompting Cruz to post a photo of one of the Zodiac Killer’s infamous coded letters. This was a reference to the long-running — but completely unsubstantiated — rumor that Cruz himself is the unidentified serial killer. > [](https://twitter.com/BenSasse/status/920705700124381185) > [](https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/920709146789515272) The Internet, of course, couldn’t keep it together in the wake of his mock confession. “We had a good run, y’all – the Internet was fun – but it is done now,” [one user wrote](https://twitter.com/RobGrasing/status/920710654880657408) in reply. > [](https://twitter.com/RobGrasing/status/920710654880657408) See some of the best responses below. > [](https://twitter.com/JamesTreakle/status/920710162608001032) > [](https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/920712558184685568) > [](https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/920711972857024517) > [](https://twitter.com/ken%5Fmemphis/status/920717390308134912) > [](https://twitter.com/hcjewell/status/920716984207204353) > [](https://twitter.com/WaywardWinifred/status/920704401156792321) > [](https://twitter.com/Thomas%5FA%5FMoore/status/920712226352353280) > [](https://twitter.com/DustinGiebel/status/920714453657714688) > [](https://twitter.com/zarzarbinkss/status/920710494847209487) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4989359/ted-cruz-zodiac-killer-joke-internet-reactions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4989359/ted-cruz-zodiac-killer-joke-internet-reactions/"},"headline":"The Internet Is Canceled Thanks to Ted Cruz's Zodiac Killer Joke","datePublished":"2017-10-19T15:41:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-08T09:57:45.774Z","description":"\"We had a good run, y’all - the Internet was fun - but it is done now\"","url":"https://time.com/4989359/ted-cruz-zodiac-killer-joke-internet-reactions/","keywords":["Newsfeed","politics","viral","ted cruz"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte1fd0f99a930b03d/6988e2980a4a22567c9d0664/ted-cruz-zodiac.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte1fd0f99a930b03d/6988e2980a4a22567c9d0664/ted-cruz-zodiac.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"U.S. President Donald Trump Hosts Members of the U.S. Congress at the White House","caption":"Sen. 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