Sen. Al Franken must step down from the U.S. Senate at once for physically molesting Leann Tweeden.
As a TV host and sports broadcaster, as well as a model familiar to the audience from the covers of FHM, Maxim and Playboy, I was only expecting to emcee and introduce the acts, but Franken said he had written a part for me that he thought would be funny, and I agreed to play along.
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.
I felt disgusted and violated.
Molesting a sleeping woman? Even a Kennedy wouldn’t stoop so low. Franken has to go, and go now. Let’s see if Messrs. McConnnell, Cruz, and Ryan can summon up the same outrage for actual sexual harassment 11 years ago for which there is photographic evidence as they have for the nonexistent kind that didn’t happen 40 years ago.
Nor is it likely to be the only time (((Franken))) did something like that.
During the meeting, writers are brainstorming about how to develop a sketch in which one of the actors plays “60 Minutes” commentator Andy Rooney, who finds an empty pill bottle in his desk. According to the article, Franken’s suggestion includes Rooney saying: “I give the pills to Leslie Stahl. Then when Leslie is 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.’ ”
This isn’t new and this isn’t news. Read Portnoy’s Complaint. It’s all right there, courtesy of Mr. Roth. Notice the bitter, butthurt behavior (((Franken))) exhibits after Tweeden refuses to play along with his “joke” too.
UPDATE: Once the true nature of these harassers is revealed, the floodgates tend to open:
Phil Kerpen@kerpen
I’ve already heard about a second Al Franken victim.