An apparent bid to embarrass America’s youngest-ever congresswoman on the day she was sworn in has backfired, with a viral video of her dancing garnering support from the likes of Russell Crowe and Zach Braff.

A video showing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez dancing on a rooftop while in college was posted to social media in a now-deleted tweet by a user called AnonymousQ, who labelled the newly fledged politician a “commie know-it-all” and “clueless nitwit”.

The short clip was taken from a longer video showing Ms Ocasio-Cortez and friends dancing in an apparent homage to 1980s movie The Breakfast Club.

While most would dread the thought of having their college antics immortalised on the internet, the clip instead garnered the support of the public, politicians, and celebrities alike, who praised Ms Ocasio-Cortez’s “dorky dancing” as “down-to-earth” and “endearing”.

And the 29-year-old politician can now count Russell Crowe as a fan.

The actor tweeted: “The more politicians we have like [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] the sooner we’ll all be dancing.”

“This is a real person, in touch with her roots.”

The congresswoman is “officially done”, actor Patton Oswalt added: “She’ll never recover from the world seeing her … dancing adorably and having fun with her friends in high school?”.

Hahaha she’s fantastic .
The more politicians we have like @AOC the sooner we’ll all be dancing. This is a real person, in touch with her roots. She has a perspective, a work ethic & a humanity based philosophy that seeks the best outcome for the most people..
More power to her. https://t.co/NEKPAm14Cm

— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) January 3, 2019

https://twitter.com/zachbraff/status/1080992326799974400

Ms Ocasio-Cortez, 29, tweeted a video of herself dancing to the Edwin Starr song War in the halls of Congress a day after the failed bid to embarrass her.

https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1081234130841600000

Ms Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat, has been the subject of ongoing online scrutiny, most recently for her decision to take a “self-care” break before entering Congress.

She has also faced criticism for her clothing and claims she misrepresented her working class roots, with commentators mocking her inability to pay rent in Washington as a “great political line”.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez, who has captured the attention of progressive voters around the country, was elected with 78 per cent of the vote in her New York congressional district at the mid-terms in November 2018.

-ABC