‘Saturday Night Live’ Female Staff Defend Al Franken Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations

Female staff members of Saturday Night Live have released a letter defending Sen. Al Franken amid the sexual harassment allegations against him.

The letter, posted on Twitter, headlined SNL Women Offer Solidarity In Support Of Al Franken, reads as follows: “We feel compelled to stand up for Al Franken, whom we have all had the pleasure of working with over the years on Saturday Night Live (SNL).

What Al did was stupid and foolish, and we think it was appropriate for him to apologize to Ms. Tweeden, and to the public. In our experience, we know Al as a devoted and dedicated family man, a wonderful comedic performer and an honorable public servant. That is why we are moved to quickly and directly affirm that after years of working with him, we would like to acknowledge that not one of us ever experience any inappropriate behavior; and mention our sincere appreciation that he treated each of us with the utmost respect and regard.”

The letter closes with “We send our support and gratitude to Al and his family this Thanksgiving and holiday season.”

Hollywood reaction has been split over Franken. SNL Weekend Update co-anchor Colin Jost took on Franken and the photo he tweeted in which he apparently gropes Tweeden as she slept on a plane on the November 18 episode. “Now, I know this photo looks bad, but remember, it also is bad. And sure, this was taken before Franken ran for public office, but it was also taken after he was a sophomore in high school. It’s pretty hard to be, like, ‘Come on, he didn’t know better. He was only 55.’”

Bill Maher defended Franken on the November 17 installment of Real Time, saying Franken “did a bad thing” and he deserves the condemnation he’s received, but he should not be lumped in with other men accused recently of sexual misconduct or assault including Roy Moore, Kevin Spacey, Harvey Weinstein or Donald Trump.

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