Leeann Tweeden said Thursday she accepts Sen. Al Franken’s, D-Minn., apology for groping her when the two were on a USO tour in 2006 but said the senator had other chances to apologize for his behavior and never did.
“People make mistakes, and of course he knew he made a mistake,” Tweeden said during a press conference. “Yes, I do accept that apology.”
Tweeden, a radio host and former sports commentator, said Thursday that Franken kissed her against her will when the two were practicing a skit as part of a USO tour in the Middle East 11 years ago. She also said Franken groped her while she slept on the flight from Afghanistan after the tour ended. A photo shows the senator, then a comedian, grinning for the camera and touching Tweeden’s breasts while she was sleeping.
Franken apologized for his behavior Thursday and said though he initially posed for the photo as a joke, he now understands why Tweeden felt violated. The Minnesota senator said he would welcome an investigation into the allegations from the Senate Ethics Committee and would cooperate with any probe.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has also called for the Senate Ethics Committee to examine the accusations.
Tweeden said Thursday she isn’t calling for Franken to step down from his Senate seat or for an ethics investigation and said she wasn’t expecting anything from the senator. She said Franken had opportunities to apologize for his actions in the 11 years since their USO tour, including at a USO gala they both attended years ago.
Tweeden said Franken approached her at the event to say hello but recalled she was “very cold” to him.
“He had a chance to apologize to me then. He knew exactly what he did to me then and that picture was out there,” she said. “He knew he had a chance to apologize to me, so I wasn’t holding my breath [waiting for an apology]. I would’ve been long dead by then.”
Tweeden said she others initially discouraged her from speaking out about Franken’s misconduct on the USO tour and recalled people in Hollywood telling her she would never work in the entertainment business again if she did so.
But she said she decided to share her story now as more victims of sexual assault and harassment have begun to come forward in the wake of revelations about film producer Harvey Weinstein.
“This is happening in middle America. This is happening for women who work at Chili’s. This is happening for women who work in an office building somewhere in Iowa and Kansas and Florida. This is happening to women who have no power and no way to speak up,” Tweeden said. “I think the tide is turning, but what about all the women who don’t have microphones and have a voice and can’t say something and it’s everywhere on the news?”
Though she didn’t provide details, Tweeden suggested there may be at least one other woman accusing Franken of misconduct. The radio host said she received a message from a woman that said she had a similar experience, but Tweeden said she hadn’t called her back.
