Former Senator Al Franken made his late-night comeback with an appearance on ‘Conan’, the first since he resigned from the Senate in 2017, and shared what he’s learned since being accused of sexual misconduct.
Former Senator Al Franken is pursuing a comeback after resigning in 2017 for alleged sexual misconduct. The senator from Minnesota, 68, also a comedian and Saturday Night Live alum, made his first late-night television appearance since the scandal, on the September 26 episode of Conan. He was there with a big announcement: he’s returning to his radio roots with his own weekly SiriusXM show, to be called The Al Franken Show. And while he was there, he discussed a myriad of topics, including what he’s learned from his #MeToo accusations. You can watch his full interview below.
“The #MeToo movement, I think we can all agree, has brought to light a lot of offensive behavior by a lot of men and rightfully so and has been to the great good,” Conan O’Brien, Franken’s friend and former SNL colleague, began. “Many people think that your case—it made them feel uneasy, and there was some questions and uneasiness about your particular situation and how it was resolved.” The host specifically referenced the seven senators, including Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who have now stated they regret demanding Franken resign.
Franken said that it was “very gratifying” to get an apology after feeling “tremendous pressure” to leave his Senate seat after eight women accused him in late 2017 of trying to grope or kiss them. The highest profile accusation came from radio host Leeann Tweeden, who said Franken groped her while she was sleeping aboard a military plane on her way home from a 2006 USO tour. She provided a picture of the incident, and said she felt “disgusted and violated.” She also claimed that Franken forcibly kissed her while they were practicing for a USO performance. Franken immediately apologized.
“When this first happened, if you had asked me, ‘Have you ever made a woman feel uncomfortable by the way you put your arm around her or touched her or something like that’ I would have said no,” Franken told O’Brien. “And after all these allegations came in, I thought, well, I must be doing something wrong. Right? Ever since, I’ve been a lot more mindful in my interactions with pretty much everyone. People who know me know that I’m not that guy,” he added. “That guy that 36 of my colleagues demanded that I go and the pressure came on me in no uncertain terms that I had to go.”
Franken described his one-hour interview show as an offshoot of the podcast he currently hosts, The Al Franken Podcast. The show will feature discussions with figures from the politics and entertainment worlds, airing Saturdays at 10:00am ET on the Sirius Progressive channel. His first guest, on September 28, is Chris Rock; former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Patton Oswalt are lined up for other episodes, as well, according to SiriusXM. This marks a return to Franken’s past life as a comedian and political commentator. For several years, before running for office, the Minnesota Democrat hosted an Air America radio program, also called The Al Franken Show.
In addition to his hosting duties, Franken will be covering the 2020 presidential race for SiriusXM. “When I left the Senate, I said that while I was giving up my seat, I would not give up my voice,” Franken wrote on his website. “Since I left, I’ve had so many folks ask me to re-enter the fray. Fray, here I am!”
Sourse: hollywoodlife.com
