Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., has been edited out of an upcoming PBS special in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
Franken participated in PBS’ “David Letterman: The Mark Twain Prize” special, alongside Letterman’s friends and fellow comedians. But the network decided to cut the senator from the broadcast, which is set to air Monday night at 8 pm.
The special was taped last month at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
“PBS will air ‘David Letterman: The Mark Twain Prize’ on Monday evening. Senator Al Franken participated in the event, but will not appear substantially in the PBS program,” PBS said in a statement.
“PBS and WETA, the producing station, felt that the inclusion of Senator Franken in the broadcast at this time would distract from the show’s purpose as a celebration of American humor,” the network said.
Though Franken’s participation will largely be edited out of the broadcast, the network told TVLine the senator can still be seen “in the finale shot when all the cast” joins Letterman on stage.
Los Angeles radio host Leeann Tweeden said last week Franken forcibly kissed her while the two were practicing for a skit during a USO tour in the Middle East in 2006. Tweeden also shared a photo of a posing Franken grabbing her breasts while Tweeden slept on the plane home at the end of the tour.
Franken was a comedian at the time and hadn’t been elected yet to the U.S. Senate.
The senator apologized last week for his misconduct and said he welcomes an ethics investigation into the allegations. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., also called for an ethics probe.
A second woman, Lindsay Menz, told CNN in an article published Monday that Franken grabbed her butt while the two were posing for a photo at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010.
Menz’s accusation is the first involving his time as a senator.
