Sen. Al Franken has joined the ranks of powerful men apologizing—kind of, but not enough—for harassing and abusing women. Leeann Tweeden, now a radio news anchor in Los Angeles, writes that while on a USO tour with Franken, he engaged in exactly the kind of behavior that has so disgusted us as stories about other prominent men have come out in recent weeks.
First, Franken used a skit (which he wrote and cast her in) as cover to force a kiss on Tweeden, repeatedly insisting, over her objections, that they needed to rehearse the kiss:
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.
But that’s not all. After Tweeden pushed him away, she writes that Franken spent the rest of the tour dealing her “petty insults, including drawing devil horns on at least one of the headshots I was autographing for the troops.” But that, unfortunately, is not all. On the flight back to the United States, Tweeden fell asleep. She later found a photo of Franken grinning at the camera while posing with his hands over her breasts:
I couldn’t believe it. He groped me, without my consent, while I was asleep.
I felt violated all over again. Embarrassed. Belittled. Humiliated.
How dare anyone grab my breasts like this and think it’s funny?
I told my husband everything that happened and showed him the picture.
I wanted to shout my story to the world with a megaphone to anyone who would listen, but even as angry as I was, I was worried about the potential backlash and damage going public might have on my career as a broadcaster.
But that was then, this is now. I’m no longer afraid.
It’s inexcusable, and this statement from Franken had better be the first chapter of a longer and more thoughtful apology: “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.”