On May 27, 2011, Weiner sent a link to a sexually explicit photograph of himself via his public Twitter account[40][41][42] to an adult woman who was following him on Twitter.[43] After several days of denying he had posted the image,[44][45][46][47] Weiner held a press conference at which he admitted he had "exchanged messages and photos of an explicit nature with about six women over the last three years". He apologized for his earlier denials.[48][49][50] After an explicit photo was leaked through the Twitter account of a listener of the The Opie & Anthony Show,[51] Weiner announced on June 16, 2011, that he would resign from Congress,[52][53][54][55] and he formally did so on June 21.[56] In the special election held on September 13, 2011, to replace him, Republican businessman Bob Turner[57] defeated Democrat David Weprin to fill Weiner's seat.[58]
A second scandal began on July 23, 2013, several months after Weiner returned to politics in the New York City mayoral race.[59] Explicit photos were sent by him under the alias "Carlos Danger" to a 22-year-old woman with whom Weiner had contact as late as April 2013, more than a year after he had left Congress.[59] The 22-year-old woman was later revealed as Sydney Leathers, an Indiana native who first came into contact with him by expressing her disapproval of his extramarital behaviors.[60]