Overview

Al Franken Sexual Misconduct Allegations refers to allegations made against Democratic Senator Al Franken of Minnesota that he kissed and groped American model and sports commentator Leeann Tweeden in 2006 without her consent. She provided a photo of Franken touching her chest while she was asleep. Franken apologized and called the photograph an embarrassing joke, and welcomed an investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee.

History

On November 16th, 2017, model and sports commentator Leeann Tweeden posted her story to KABC^[1] of Franken allegedly kissing her in 2006 as part of a comedy sketch against her will, then later touching her breasts as she was asleep on an airplane. The pair were together on a USO tour to entertain troops overseas. Franken had written a sketch where he kissed Tweeden and insisted that the two rehearse it. After several rejections, Tweeden allowed the kiss to be rehearsed, at which point Tweeden says "(Franken) 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." On the flight home, Franken was photographed touching Tweeden's breasts and smiling at the camera (shown below). The incidents came before Franken was elected to the Senate in 2008.

Developments

After the article was released, Franken said in a statement towards reporters, "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."^[2] Immediately, Twitter users and journalists called upon Franken to resign. Slate^[3] published an article demanding Franken immediately resign if Democrats wanted any credibility when it came to sexual assault and harassment cases. Many Twitter users echoed the sentiment; for example, journalist Eve Peyser^[4] called on Franken to resign in a tweet that gained over 300 retweets and 980 likes (shown below, left). Twitter user @joelpollak^[5] did the same in a tweet that gained over 530 retweets and 670 likes (shown below, right).

Meanwhile, politicians on both the left and right denounced Franken's actions. New York Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said she was "deeply disturbed" by the allegations and that she believed the accuser.^[6] Democrat Patty Murray of Washington said

"This is unacceptable behavior and extremely disappointing. I am glad Al came out and apologized, but that doesn’t reverse what he’s done or end the matter. I support an ethics committee investigation into these accusations and I hope this latest example of the deep problems on this front spurs continued action to address it."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said in a statement that the Senate Ethics Committee should review the matter (shown below).^[7]

"As with all credible allegations of sexual harassment or assault, I believe the Ethics Committee should review the matter. I hope the Democratic Leader will join me on this. Regardless of party, harassment and assault are completely unacceptable -- in the workplace or anywhere else."

This statement prompted Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, himself undergoing media scrutiny for sexual misconduct with teenage girls, to accuse McConnell of hypocrisy.

Franken released a second, much longer statement hours after his first statement.^[8] In the second statement (shown below), Franken apologized to Tweeden, said there was no excuse for the picture, and voiced his support for an Ethics Committee investigation into his actions.

“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.”

Later that day, The Hill^[18] reported that Tweeden accepted his apology. She said, "The apology, sure I accept it, yes. People make mistakes and of course he knew he made a mistake. So yes I do accept that apology. There's no reason why I shouldn't accept his apology. People make mistakes. I’m not calling for him to step down. That’s not my place to say that."

The allegations and reactions were covered by The New York Times,^[9] CNN,^[2] Fox News,^[10] and more. On Reddit, a thread about the allegations posted to /r/politics^[12] gained over 21,000 upvotes and a link to the same article in /r/television^[13] gained 5,600 upvotes. A thread in /r/news^[14] gained over 3,000 upvotes. Tweeden stated that she did not think Franken should resign, but was open to changing her mind if more people stepped forward.^[11]

Lesley Stahl Tape

On the night allegations were made public, President Donald Trump tweeted^[15] about the controversy. He wrote, "The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps? ….. .And to think that just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women. Lesley Stahl tape?" The tweets (shown below) received more than 18,000 retweets and 70,000 likes each.

The "Lesley Stahl Tape" that Trump is referring to is an unproduced sketch that Franken pitched for Saturday Night Live. In a cover story on the show for the March 13th, 1995 issue of New York magazine,^[16] Franken, then a writer for the show, was quoted pitching a sketch about the news magazine series 60 Minutes, which Stalh is a journalist for. He said, "And, ‘I give the pills to Lesley Stahl. Then, when Lesley’s passed out, I take her to the closet and rape her.’ Or, ‘That’s why you never see Lesley until February.’ Or, ‘When she passes out, I put her in various positions and take pictures of her.’"

In a May 2017, New York Times^[17] article about Franken, the Senator said of the joke, “I wasn’t sorry that I had written Porn-o-Rama [another controversial joke] or pitched that stupid Lesley Stahl joke at 2 in the morning. I was just doing my job.”

Franken Staffers' Response

On November 17th, a group of seven female staffers for Franken came forward to defend the senator.^[19] They said in a joint statement:

"Many of us spent years working for Senator Franken in Minnesota and Washington. In our time working for the senator, he treated us with the utmost respect. He valued our work and our opinions and was a champion for women in both the legislation he supported and in promoting women to leadership roles in our offices."

Resignation

On December 7th, 2017, Franken announced his resignation on the Senate floor, though he claimed he did not believe he had done anything worthy of leaving his position in the Senate. Additionally, Franken claimed "some of the allegations" against him were "simply not true" and that "other I remember very differently."

"Over the last few weeks, a number of women have come forward to talk about how they felt my actions had affected them. I was shocked. I was upset. But in responding to their claim, I also wanted to be respectful of that broader conversation. Because all women deserve to be heard and their experiences taken seriously. I think that was the right thing to do. I also think it gave some people the false impression that I was admitting to doing things that in fact I haven't done. Some of the allegations against me are simply not true. Others I remember very differently."

Bill Maher Parody Tweet

On January 4th, 2018, comedian and late-night talkshow host Bill Maher tweeted^[20] a parody of the infamous Franken picture, pretending to touch the breasts of comedian Bob Saget. He captioned the post "These New Years Hawaii trips are getting weird – Saget, forgive me!" The post (shown below) received more than 2,000 retweet and 17,000 likes in less than 24 hours.

The post received a mixed reaciton online. Twitter user @fanniesroom tweeted,^[21] "Women in Hollywood have started a legal defense fund for working class women who experience sexual harassment on the job. Bill Maher just made a sexual assault "joke" on an airplane, mimicking the Al Franken photo. Men, step up and do the work with us or sit down. #TIMESUP."

Twitter user @skyview3129 tweeted (shown below, center),^[22] "I cannot believe Al Franken had to resign over a joke? People cannot even take a joke these days? His apology was heartfelt, enough for him to resign why cannot people learn to forgive and to forget? But the president on the other hand gets to be president? Why?"

Twitter user @tamaraholder tweeted (shown below, right),^[23] "Dear @billmaher & @bobsaget: I have been a big fan of yours my entire life. This post is tone deaf, clueless, and insulting to women who don’t find this kind of behavior funny. I’m happy you found two women on the plane to laugh at you because they’re the only ones."

Several news outlets covered the picture, including Uproxx, ^[23] The Wrap,^[24] Hollywood Reporter^[25] and more.

Search Interest

External References