If Leeann Tweeden’s story about Senator Al Franken is true, and there’s no reason to believe it’s not, then the Senator has a lot of backtracking to do. He’s been very outspoken about sexual misconduct and has called for accusers to be believed. Apparently, the same standards don’t apply to him.
Here’s Franken’s response to the allegations:
“I certainly don’t remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann. As to the photo, it was clearly intended to be funny but wasn’t. I shouldn’t have done it.”
Tweeden’s article on KABC is startlingly detailed, accusing the former comedian of forcefully kissing her without permission. He then participated in a “funny” picture showing him groping the former Playboy model while she slept.
Should she be believed? According to Franken last month, yes:
We’ll look at Franken’s full response below, but let’s look at Tweeden’s story first. You should read the whole thing:
Senator Al Franken Kissed and Groped Me Without My Consent, And There’s Nothing Funny About It
He repeated that actors really need to rehearse everything and that we must practice the kiss. I said ‘OK’ so he would stop badgering me. We did the line leading up to the kiss and then he came at me, put his hand on the back of my head, mashed his lips against mine and aggressively stuck his tongue in my mouth.
I immediately pushed him away with both of my hands against his chest and told him if he ever did that to me again I wouldn’t be so nice about it the next time.
We’re quickly becoming accustomed to accusations of sexual misconduct against powerful men ever since Harvey Weinstein was exposed. The #MeToo movement has yielded some surprising accusations from Kevin Spacey to Brett Ratner. This latest accusation could be the one that has the biggest impact on America as it involves a sitting politician, particularly of similar accounts start coming out as a result of Tweeden’s post.
Watch closely how the court of public opinion handles this as that will determine if there are any actions taken against the Senator. Will he be forced to resign? Will Mitch McConnell call for an ethics probe as he did with Roy Moore if he wins in Alabama? Will Democrats abandon Franken or defend him? All of these questions should be answered soon.
Franken calls for investigation of himself
In his formal response to the allegations, the Senator called for a probe on himself:
“The first thing I want to do is apologize: to Leeann, to everyone else who was part of that tour, to everyone who has worked for me, to everyone I represent, and to everyone who counts on me to be an ally and supporter and champion of women. There’s more I want to say, but the first and most important thing—and if it’s the only thing you care to hear, that’s fine—is: I’m sorry.
“I respect women. I don’t respect men who don’t. And the fact that my own actions have given people a good reason to doubt that makes me feel ashamed.
“But I want to say something else, too. Over the last few months, all of us—including and especially men who respect women—have been forced to take a good, hard look at our own actions and think (perhaps, shamefully, for the first time) about how those actions have affected women.
“For instance, that picture. I don’t know what was in my head when I took that picture, and it doesn’t matter. There’s no excuse. I look at it now and I feel disgusted with myself. It isn’t funny. It’s completely inappropriate. It’s obvious how Leeann would feel violated by that picture. And, what’s more, I can see how millions of other women would feel violated by it—women who have had similar experiences in their own lives, women who fear having those experiences, women who look up to me, women who have counted on me.
“Coming from the world of comedy, I’ve told and written a lot of jokes that I once thought were funny but later came to realize were just plain offensive. But the intentions behind my actions aren’t the point at all. It’s the impact these jokes had on others that matters. And I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to come to terms with that.
“While I don’t remember the rehearsal for the skit as Leeann does, I understand why we need to listen to and believe women’s experiences.
“I am asking that an ethics investigation be undertaken, and I will gladly cooperate.
“And the truth is, what people think of me in light of this is far less important than what people think of women who continue to come forward to tell their stories. They deserve to be heard, and believed. And they deserve to know that I am their ally and supporter. I have let them down and am committed to making it up to them.”
