Ever since Hollywood absolutely exploded with sexual assault and rape allegations against Harvey Weinstein, more and more women are finding the courage to speak up and share their own stories. Leeann Tweeden, a model and sports commenter, decided it was time to break her silence on her encounter with then-comedian, now Senator Al Franken—and the details aren’t funny in the slightest.
Tweeden took to the internet to share her story, detailing her sexual assault by Franken in a blog post for Los Angeles radio station KABC, The Washington Post reports.
Tweeden, who has been an active participant in the United Service Organization’s entertainment tours for the troops, explains that the sexual assault took place back in 2006 during her ninth tour. Al Franken, a comedian who was elected just two years later as a junior United States Senator for Minnesota, was on that same trip.
“Franken had written some skits for the show and brought props and costumes to go along with them,” Tweeden writes in her post. “Like many USO shows before and since, the skits were full of sexual innuendo geared toward a young, male audience.”
“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.” Tweeden continues.
Her post then takes a turn, going into detail of what exactly this “part” entailed.
“When I saw the script, Franken had written a moment when his character comes at me for a ‘kiss,’” Tweeden writes. “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.”
But what occurred backstage will make your stomach churn:
“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.” (Cringe-worthy is an understatement)
“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,” Tweeden wrote.
Unfortunately, Franken didn’t stop there. (And just when you think this story couldn’t get any worse!)
“The tour wrapped and on Christmas Eve we began the 36-hour trip home to L.A. After 2 weeks of grueling travel and performing I was exhausted,” Tweeden writes. “When our C-17 cargo plane took off from Afghanistan I immediately fell asleep, even though I was still wearing my flak vest and Kevlar helmet. It wasn’t until I was back in the US and looking through the CD of photos we were given by the photographer that I saw this one.”
Understandably, Tweeden experienced a whirlwind of emotions. “I couldn’t believe it. He groped me, without my consent, while I was asleep,” she writes. “I felt violated all over again. Embarrassed. Belittled. Humiliated. How dare anyone grab my breasts like this and think it’s funny?”
With plenty of sexual assault and rape allegations coming to light now, some people question why those who have had experiences like these choose to stay silent for so long. Fortunately, Tweeden used her platform to offer an explanation, because like so many women who are now speaking up or are still silent, she’s angry, but can’t always speak up.
“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,” Tweeden writes.
However, near the end of her post, Tweeden states her ultimate intention of telling her story, and it’s not on her own behalf.
“While debating whether or not to go public, I even thought to myself, so much worse has happened to so many others, maybe my story isn’t worth telling? But my story is worth telling. Not just because 2017 is not 2006, or because I am much more secure in my career now than I was then, and not because I’m still angry. I’m telling my story because there may be others.”
Tweeden shared her blog post on Twitter, writing, “I’ve decided it’s time to tell my story. #MeToo.”
I’ve decided it’s time to tell my story. #MeToohttps://t.co/TqTgfvzkZg
— Leeann Tweeden (@LeeannTweeden) November 16, 2017
ABC News took to Twitter to post a “lengthier apology” from Senator Al Franken.
JUST IN: Sen. Al Franken delivers lengthier apology following accusation of sexual misconduct: “I am asking that an ethics investigation be undertaken, and I will gladly cooperate.” https://t.co/aDkmC6puqy pic.twitter.com/668E3GrXci
— ABC News (@ABC) November 16, 2017
Sexual assault, no matter to what degree or in what context, is never okay. I commend Tweeden for her incredible courage, and if we can all agree on one thing, it’s the idea that Tweeden ends her blog post with: “I want the days of silence to be over forever.”