Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) is just the latest high-powered man to be accused of sexual harassment, and on Tuesday the former female staffers of Saturday Night Live issued a statement showing support for the senator.
Over the weekend, SNL didn’t hold back when it came to roasting the senator, who is also an alum of the show, after Leeann Tweeden wrote about Franken fondling her breasts and kissing her. Now 36 former female SNL staffers are offering their support to the senator, while stating that it was appropriate that he apologized to Tweeden.
“What Al did was stupid and foolish, and we think it was appropriate for him to apologize to Ms. Tweeden, and to the public,” they wrote.
The letter includes signatures from former production assistants, writers and costume designers, with the most notable names being Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman.
The women went on to say that during their time working with Franken, he never acted inappropriately toward any of them and treated them with “the utmost respect and regard,” as if that really means he couldn’t possibly have treated other women in disrespectful ways.
“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 experienced any inappropriate behavior,” the women wrote.