Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich defended Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., on Wednesday, commenting on how “comedians often do weird things,” as the former “Saturday Night Live” cast member is set to make an announcement Thursday amid calls for him to resign as allegations of sexual misconduct pile up.

“To the best of my knowledge, even the one which broke today, the horrifying last straw which led [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer to decide as a great New Yorker that he had to suddenly stand on the side of puritanism. Pretty bizarre,” Gingrich told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. “As I understand it, that occurred two years ago when he was a comedian. Al Franken was a comedian. Comedians often do weird things. He was in the entertainment business. He was doing the kind of things people in the entertainment business do.”