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Broadcaster Accuses Sen. Al Franken of Kissing, Groping Without Consent
As Democrats (rightly) inveigh against Senate candidate Roy Moore’s gross behavior, one of their own senators has been accused. TV host and sports broadcaster Leeann Tweeden accused Sen. Al Franken (D–MN) of kissing and groping her without her consent on a 2006 USO Tour.
Three years before Minnesota voters sent Franken to the Senate, he performed as a comedian in a show for US troops in the Middle East. Because battle-weary troops love them some Stuart Smalley. Tweeden, a former model featured in FHM, Maxim, and Playboy, was only supposed to be the emcee but was surprised to see that Franken had written her into a skit.
Here’s how Tweeden describes it:
When I saw the script, Franken had written a moment when his character comes at me for a ‘kiss’. I suspected what he was after, but I figured I could turn my head at the last minute, or put my hand over his mouth, to get more laughs from the crowd.
On the day of the show Franken and I were alone backstage going over our lines one last time. He said to me, “We need to rehearse the kiss.” I laughed and ignored him. Then he said it again. I said something like, ‘Relax Al, this isn’t SNL…we don’t need to rehearse the kiss.’
He continued to insist, and I was beginning to get uncomfortable.
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.
I walked away. All I could think about was getting to a bathroom as fast as possible to rinse the taste of him out of my mouth.
For the rest of the tour, Tweeden avoided Franken and made sure never to be alone with him. Franken responded with insults, and later, a creepy photo:
The tour wrapped and on Christmas Eve we began the 36-hour trip home to L.A. After 2 weeks of grueling travel and performing I was exhausted. When our C-17 cargo plane took off from Afghanistan I immediately fell asleep, even though I was still wearing my flak vest and Kevlar helmet.
It wasn’t until I was back in the US and looking through the CD of photos we were given by the photographer that I saw this one:
Thursday morning, Franken offered a weak apology through his press office. “I certainly don’t remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann,” he said. “As to the photo, it was clearly intended to be funny but wasn’t. I shouldn’t have done it.”
Franken rose to prominence in the coke-fueled early days of “Saturday Night Live,” so I won’t be surprised if several other accusers step forward. And since sexual harrassment is rife on Capitol Hill, the Minnesota senator won’t be the last to be outed before this is all over. I suspect there are many nervous senators and congressmen who aren’t getting a lot of sleep these days.
Published in General
I look forward to the statement from Mitch McConnell announcing that the Senate will begin hearings to expel Al Franken.
Franken came from show business, of course he’s a hypocritical pig!
Anything that happens with Moore should happen with Franken. Here we have a picture of sexual assualt.
SNL was slow to do anything about Weinstein (Lorne Michaels said it was a “New York thing”), but quick to do an opening skit about Roy Moore. Why do I doubt the Al Franken jokes will come fast and furious on that show?
And the Senate says to Moore.
The Senate is full of creeps. However, we won’t abide your kind of creep here.
Not to worry Max. Dems get a free pass in the Senate, regardless of their transgressions.
Frozen Chosen
Franken came from show business, of course he’s a hypocritical pig!
Comments @patsajak @roblong @daviddeeble ?
The Washington
PostEnquirer will be all over this. Keep your eyes glued to the bottom of page A12 — in about 15-20 years.Those three gentlemen will be the first to admit that Hollywood is full of hypocritical pigs. Rob details it in his books.
I say we send ‘em all back home and start over again with a new crop.
On a broader note, what does it say about our society that we can’t find better people to elect to public office than Franken, Moore, Clinton or Trump? Is politics that dirty of a business that it only attracts the creeps and weirdos? Are we that gullible? Do people like this reflect the people who make up our society? Is this kind of behavior really rampant among the populace in general?
Would the new crop be any better, that is my fear.
I think it reflects on what people are willing to put up with to run. Do you want every last thing drug up about you? It takes the right mindset to deal with the character destruction these days.
Also, thinking in terms of Archtypes, Zeus fooled around. It goes with the territory.
Good question. I think the state of politics today means “the good guys” aren’t the ones who normally run for office.
Wow! Credit where due:
Now let’s see if they follow through.
Franklin is a Democrat so this is a non story. He will do an apology tour or two to raise his profile and check into some sort of addiction center to get “clean” and all will be well.
This is Leeann’s husband. Franken better watch his six.
And of course, there’s plenty of evidence that Franken’s win in 2008 was fraudulent anyway.
Unfortunately we may have reached the point that a campaign slogan that both the Left and Right could use would be; He may be a sleaze, but he’s our sleaze.
Working a vice car I arrested both prostitutes and their clients. Many of the clients were married men. One them was giving me a lot of grief. When I finished handcuffing him he said what am I going to tell my wife. I replied give me your phone number and I’ll call her and explain why you won’t be coming home tonight. He didn’t take me up on my offer.
If anyone deserves to get his lights punched out it’s Al Franken.
I cannot WAIT for James Lileks’ comments about Franken on the main podcast this week. Ought to be EPIC!
That pretty much sums up both of Franken’s careers.
Story came out towards the end, and alas we didn’t get into the weeds. I have to say I was surprised, b/c I thought he was a nerdy, sexless dork whose sole redeeming quality was his uxorial devotion. But he was an utter jerk the one time I met him, so I’m not completely surprised.
Franken’s verbal abuse of Justice Willett yesterday didn’t age well…less than 24 hours later I am sure Weird Al wants to “revise and extend his remarks.” I listened to the CSPAN audio last night and heard several senators embarrass themselves. Not content to embarrass themselves once, Whitehouse and Franken pursued a 2nd round of attacks at about the 2 hr mark. Franken attacked him for making a joke that wasn’t funny.
Now Stallone has been accused. Anyone of any fame who has ever looked at a woman wrong is shaking in their boots.
Jon,
That’s it Franken must resign immediately. He has embarrassed the Senate. Mitch McConnell was blushing terribly and we can’t have that. Franken is a contemptable curr. No apologies should be accepted. I demand the test of honor. I’ll meet him tomorrow on the capital steps with sabers. Frank Soto will be my second. Frank if he tries anything funny (or if he wins) shoot him.
Regards,
Jim
But none more sanctimonious than Franken. God I’d love to see him brought down.
I’m Stuart Smalley.
I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, woman like my tongue shoved down their throats!
Al gets his story straight.