Yep, #HimToo. Senator Al Franken has been accused of groping a woman during a USO Tour back in 2006. TV host, sports broadcaster, and former model Leeann Tweeden wrote her account for KABC News, accusing then-comedian Franken of groping her without her consent, and she brought the receipts.
Tweeden and Franken were working on a sketch together and, according to Tweeden, Franken insisted they practice the kiss included in the scene. “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,” Tweeden wrote.
On their return home, Tweeden fell asleep on the cargo plane. Later she was given a photo of Franken seeming to grope her while she slept. “I couldn’t believe it. He groped me, without my consent, while I was asleep,” Tweeden wrote. “I felt violated all over again. Embarrassed. Belittled. Humiliated.”
Franken has already apologized: “I certainly don’t remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann,” the Minnesota Democrat said in a statement. “As to the photo, it was clearly intended to be funny but wasn’t. I shouldn’t have done it.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell immediately called for an Ethics Committee investigation into Franken’s behavior, saying: “As with all credible allegations of sexual harassment or assault, I believe the Ethics Committee should review the matter.”
Update: Franken has issued a more thorough statement, saying, among other things, that he will cooperate with the ethics investigation.
Franken’s expanded statement: pic.twitter.com/KzSr5s5zkn
— Stephanie Buck (@StephMBuck) November 16, 2017