Yesterday, disgraced senator Al Franken was hit with a second allegation of sexual misconduct—this one stemming from 2010, when he was already an elected official.
Amidst calls for his resignation (and other, extremely dumb calls for him not to resign merely because he’s a Democrat) and criticism from Donald Trump (who, well, you know), a group of unlikely characters have entered the conversation. For some absolutely baffling reason, 36 women who worked with Al Franken on Saturday Night Live have taken it upon themselves to release a statement in support of Franken, who wrote for and appeared on the show between 1975-1980 and 1985-1995.
The women involved range from to writers to producers to costume designers to PAs to Lorne Michaels’ assistant and consultant, to Not Ready for Prime Time Players like Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman. (You can see the full list here.) Seeing as how Franken left the show over 20 years ago in 1995, I’m not sure how relevant their participation is or what the statement has to do with allegations from 2006 and 2010.
Why these women are going out of their way to insert themselves into this story in a way that only serves to discredit his accusers is beyond me. Calling Franken’s actions “stupid and foolish” reinforces the kind of “boys will be boys” sentiment that perpetuates harassment and abuse against women, and once again, not personally experiencing harassment doesn’t mean other women haven’t.
Also, it’s perplexing as to why these women would go out of their way to throw themselves onto a derailed train flying off a cliff, but if you’re going to do it, expressing gratitude for Al Franken this Thanksgiving is an equally horrifying touch.