Here Is Why Ms Tweeden's Past Is Relevant

[SoCalMusicLover]

Putting aside the kiss, and focusing on the picture she is so enraged and embarrassed by.

From the start, she has tried to give the impression that he was actually touching her chest, rather than hovering over it in an immature manner. Of course she can't actually say that, but it's been implied, and has now become a mantra of the other side intent on destroying Mr. Franken.

This is a woman who has appeared in Playboy not once, but Twice. One of those appearances was 5 years after this "traumatic" incident. She does realize what guys who buy Playboy sometimes tend to do, doesn't she? By posing in Playboy, and other places, I find it incredibly surprising that she is so offended by a little guy humor, that was not even kept hidden from her following the trip.

Posing in Playboy does not give you the right to be sexually assaulted. And guess what, she wasn't. Whether she was really awake when it happened or not, they probably assumed that yes.....someone who had posed nude in Playboy, would not be traumatized by some immature college fratboy humor.

[smirkymonkey]

1. I found her "righteous indignation" a bit incinsere considering

her past. She doesn't deserve to be assaulted, but surely she is no stranger to such aggressive male behavior. She is parroting the lines of the recently sexually abused women in the media which I find very disingenuous. I'm sorry, but I just don't trust her motives.

[Thor_MN]

22. She was so embarrassed that she arranged for the photo to be published...

After first waiting a decade for an opportune moment...

[JI7]

2. for me it was the roger stone, hannity and other wingnut connection, and how she changed her tune

after Franken called for an investigation .

[W_HAMILTON]

4. Same.

She was a birther, an original Trump fan from years ago, and she was on Howard Stern and he joked about needing to examine her for breast cancer and she certainly didn't sound as righteously indignant as she was at the picture of Franken holding his hands above her chest -- in fact, she called him "Stern MD" or something like that and was joking along with the radio crew the whole time.

The fact that Roger Stone somehow knew about the pending accusation before it was posted publicly is especially suspicious.

[Hortensis]

8. Hadn't heard the Howard Stern "MD" business, but

hardly a surprise. Leaving the very questionable Hannity and Stern history for a far more positive side, Ms. Tweeden did over 100 USO tours, and while that's a worthy way to earn a living, it's not exactly a sheltered sort of life.

As for Stone, don't need that for suspicion. The GOP badly needs distraction from its current multi-trillion-dollar theft of taxpayer dollars and taxpayer wellbeing, and she's providing it. Just wish she could be arrested along with the lot of them.

[W_HAMILTON]

18. Here's the link:

It's a loooong video.

The portion I was referring to is around the 15:40 mark.

She actually says her mom died from breast cancer, Howard says that they need to check her for breast cancer "right now" and then they continue to joke about it and she says "Dr. Howard MD."

Ugh.

[annabanana]

9. EXACTLY!! I long for some questions about Stone's prescience.

It raises HUGE flags and sounds clangorous alarm bells for me.
.
.
.
And it should for ANYONE who recognizes Stone's name and proclivities.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

13. Yes, that latter point is telling.

She changed her tune.

They hoped that Democrats would react the same way Roy and tRump and their hard core base have done when Roy and tRump were accused.

They were unprepared when Franken acted like a gentleman while gently refuting the claim.

The claim that has not been supported much. Even though supposedly she has been telling her tale of woe to lots of people over the years.

The one claim against him.

The only claim against him.

The claim that runs directly counter to all other reports, especially from his female staff who say he used the utmost respect.

[OnDoutside]

19. 100% agree. If he had come out and said she's a liar etc, it would have opened it up for them to

go into deflect overdrive. He did the right thing.

[goldwax317]

3. Franken apologized and she accepted.

That should be the end of it, but this is the Republican Party. They'll bitch about it for the next 40 years.

[FBaggins]

5. Slut shaming on DU?

You have no idea how that sounds... do you?

"She had to know that boys will be boys. She's a playboy model after all! She must've been groped thousand times! How could she possibly be offended by someone just pretending to assault her?"

Immature?!

Yes... it does occur among some immature college males. But rather than use that to excuse the behavior of an adult male, we should be using our condemnation of his behavior as yet another way to tell those college males that what they do is entirely unacceptable

You should delete this post before the adults wake up.

[annabanana]

10. take a deep breath and tell me how Roger Stone knew in advance. . . .n/t

[FBaggins]

16. I'm certain that they've known about it for years

I'm certain that they've known about it for years and have been holding it in their pocket until the time is right.

I'm equally certain the political operatives on our side Have known about moore for sometime, and timed the release of the accusations very carefully.

Neither fact as thing one to do with whether or not the accusations are true.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

25. Please don't push RW nonsense about our "political operatives".

The women were contacted by the Washington Post.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

15. No. Not this OP. I have objected to other posts that were slut-shaming.

The OP's point is that her indignation is overdone when one considers that she is an experienced woman.

Not that she should not be indignant (if what she says happened is true).

Just that it is overdone and smacks of being an act. Of being part of an orchestrated campaign that included Roger "Nixonian dirty tricks" Stone and InfoWars (Alex Jones group) from before she announced her indignation.

[Lee-Lee]

21. So now we dig up a womans history to say how shes allowed to react or feel?

Really?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

24. No. Duh.

Do not be taken in by surface appearances.

She's a hard conservative fringe media personality & coordinated it with her right wing radio station.

They met at the radio station and discussed and decided on the timing for when to release her claim.

With that decision made they began organizing the friendly media by giving their "news partners" (InfoWars & Roger Stone) a heads up in the late night about their campaign.

It's designed to boost the radio station also.

[Lee-Lee]

29. I get that, but here is the thing

She’s allowed to if that’s how she wants to deal with it.

Period.

I don’t like her. I don’t like how she made it public. But I will never, ever, ever say a victim is “wrong” for how they choose to deal with what happened to them and how it made them feel.

Even when I don’t like it, I won’t attack a victims actions. Because when we do we just make every other victim that much less likely to come forward, speak up or defend themselves.

You know what would have made this a non-issue? A man not making gesture that objectifies women and demeans them sexually, mocking a sexual assault, while the woman was asleep and thinking it was not only funny but funny enough to record in a picture.

But he did. So she gets to do with that whatever she wants now, however dealing with that works for her.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

34. She's allowed to be political (she is) and we are allowed political analysis & commentary.

This has all the earmarks of a political dirty trick: Roger Stone, RW radio campaign, InfoWars, unsupported claims, refuted claims, claims refuted by the photographer.

The OP's analysis is not slut-shaming. Slut-shaming would be saying things like "she posed for nude photos (really soft soft-core) so anybody can do anything with her body short of rape". (Over-drawn but you get the point.) The OP is not doing that. Read the first paragraph of the OP again.

She is experienced with titillating media and she is outraged by a titillating photo fully clothed that involved no touching and no exposure and is goofy rather than sexy?

She is an RW personality; she is an actress; she is a long-time participant in media (including USO) that depend on salacious and tawdry shenanigans.

She came forward as part of a sui generis RW radio station project with these claims.

She can speak up for herself alright. She is using her national media experience as a megaphone to amplify her indignation.

She is allowed to do that.

We are allowed to analyze how her resume, her overt strong very public political orientation, and her actions belie her claim.

[maxrandb]

47. Well, if that woman supports an orange shitgibbon

That has bragged about molesting women by "grabbing them by the pussy", then Yes! Her history and agenda is clearly fair game.

My view of her is that she is a typical "mean girl", who probably agrees with Rush Limbaugh that feminism is just ugly women trying to be accepted.

There were a MAJORITY of white women who voted for a serial sexual assaulter. If you look at Donnie Short Fingers speech about how he would never molest those women because "they weren't hot enough", you could almost see Leeann in the crowd....that included multiple women... cheering him on.

It's not slut shaming to point out that Leeann has a history of exploiting her sexuality, and seems to be in on quite a bit of "locker room humor"... when it is convenient to her.

[FBaggins]

60. So it's ok to rape a prostitue

Yes... your position is that ridiculous.

[maxrandb]

64. Horseshit

You have no fucking clue what I've been through, or even who the hell I am.

Take your fucking "you support raping a prostitute" bullshit and shove it up your ass.

Pointing out that Leeann does not seem to have a problem with Howard Stern joking about examining her breasts, and supporting a shitstain like Donnie Short Fingers is fair game.

I for one believe the women . That would be the more than dozen that have worked for Franken in DC and MN that have publicly stated that he did nothing but treat them with the utmost respect.

Oh... and say I support rape to my face just one fucking time!

[FBaggins]

66. Such compelling rhetoric

Of course you don't think that it's ok to rape a prostitute.

The point is that you're ignorant to fact the your logic exactly parallels that one.

There's no problem with saying "I don't believe her because I have reason to trust his character... and women I trust who know him say that it can't be true"... but as soon as you say " I don't believe her because she's a playboy model who lets men ogle her all the time and I don't like her politics" your logic is the same as the rapist who attacks his victim in court with "who could possibly believe such a woman? She sleeps with half a dozen men a night! While I'm an upstanding citizen and pay taxes. Of course she's lying!"

Even a prostitute can say no. She can be paid and then say no... she can be paid and start the act... and then change her mind and say no... and WE can't allow a world where the default position is that she's lying because she's a "slut" and sleeps with other people. If we don't... then rapists will know which victims to pick...

[Demit]

36. You are paraphrasing the OP dishonestly.

You are putting words into someone's mouth that they never said. The OP was very thoughtful in his/her word choice, and it didn't sound to me like you say it sounds to you.

I very much hope the post doesn't get deleted, because yes, there are adults on DU who can consider ideas without being knee-jerk offended by them.

[lostnfound]

39. You are paraphrasing the OP dishonestly.

The curtailment of discussion is not useful in the discernment of truth.

[FBaggins]

61. It was hyperbole for effect, not paraphrasing

But nothing changes the fact that claiming that a woman has less reason to feel aggrieved based on her prior behavior with men is the definition of slut shaming. There's no spinning away from the fact that this is exactly what the OP was doing.

A woman can allow whatever behavior she likes with one (or a hundred) men... and still have 100% expectation that a man that she doesn't want to joke around with cannot take such liberties.

[Angry Dragon]

6. the picture was on HER phone....nobody was hiding anything

[dpd3672]

11. I don't think that's true

I'm pretty sure the picture was on a CD that was shared with all who participated.

[lostnfound]

40. Or, photoshopped and used to secure a job with Fox.

if we are in business of floating hypotheticals.

[Angry Dragon]

57. you could be correct........it was what I read or heard

[FakeNoose]

7. The right-wingers are behind all of this

I wouldn't be surprised if Steve Bannon turns out to be the person who wrote Tweedon's "story."
Also I wouldn't surprised to find out she was paid - a lot - for this. Instincts.

Al Franken has called for an investigation on himself, andI hope they actually do it. Then we'll know the truth behind this total bullshit story.

[vlyons]

12. Typical RWer Rethug sanctimonious

and hypocritical outrage and making a mountain out of an ant hill. The pic is clearly juvenile humor. His hands are hovering, not touching, her breasts. Franken is guilty only of making a stupid joke that fails the test of time.

[Drahthaardogs]

14. Have you ever seen a USO show?

They are intentionally a bit lascivious since they are geared to young men. She was there as a sex symbol.

Now, maybe in 2017 it us different, but not in 2006.

That's why this is pretty hard to swallow. It's like complaining sexual assault on the Benny Hill show. Same thing.

[TNNurse]

17. No one deserves assault, I am just not sure she was.

[Lee-Lee]

20. Slut shaming here is disgusting

And yes, this is a version of it.

Digging up her past to say how she should feel or how she is “allowed” to react or how she is “allowed” to respond is not an appropriate way to treat a victim. ANY victim. Period.

She could have been doing hard core pornogrphy footage 10 minutes before she fell asleep and any feeling or responded she had on seeing that she was being objectified and demeaned in her sleep are still every bit as valid as if she was a Soldier or a Doctor or a Nun sitting in that same seat having that done to them. As a woman she’s 100% entitled to feel any way she wants about what was done to her without her consent. And 100% entitled to deal with when and how she wants.

Your disgusting attitude is the same one I’ve seen played out in a workplace before where men who were being crude and creating a sexually hostile work environment said the victim shouldn’t care or be offended because she had posed for nude photos 20 years before so “she knows the deal”. Or where they said it was ok to make sexually suggestive remarks around a woman becaus she had previously slept with a couple of coworkers.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

28. No. This is not it. There are a number of other threads for you to go die on that hill for.

This thread and this OP is about her behavior as an experienced media personality.
Her over-acting.
She has appeared on Howard Stern and received similar goofy cheesy behavior there with no indignation.
She has 5 credits as an actress and many credits as a host of TV shows.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1204486/

[Lee-Lee]

30. So an actress or entertainers response isnt allowed to be real?

See my response to your other post in here if you don’t get why what you are doing here is harmful to all women who may be thinking of coming forward, even if you don’t like her personally it’s a bigger issue than your dislike of her.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

35. No I'm not saying that.

She is allowed to be real.

I'm saying that when the whole thing is analyzed it is very clear that she is not actually being very real.

Further, she is not even close to being "all women". She has a resume and a very public stance that places her far outside the main group of women in the USA and makes her a special case.

[lostnfound]

41. You sure she was asleep? With that helmet on?

I'm not sure of anything anymore with all of the dirty tricks being played.

[katmondoo]

42. I believe she is faking being asleep and was in on the joke at the time

There is another person "sleeping" next to her and a photographer taking the photo of Franken and the incident. Why didn't Moore have some one with him plus a photographer when he was busy assaulting those girls. Would have proved his innocence

[Lee-Lee]

50. The only place the pretending to be asleep stories have come from

Are anonymous twitter accounts, the first to say it has a history of peddling fake news.

People taking that and spreading it as true or possibly true is how this fake news shit spreads.

No legitimate sources have made that claim. The only two people known to be there who have spoken, Tweeden and Franken, have not said that is the case. There is literally no source for that theory but fake news purveyors on twitter.

Don’t be part of the fake news problem.

[brush]

55. The actual fake news is her submitting that photo as evidence that he groped her.

That is not true. The cast shadows of his hands show clearly that he is not touching her.

It's a gag photo of him hamming it up for the camera—in poor taste not doubt—but not sexual assault.

I mean come on, what sexual groper does it in front of a photographer taking a picture of it.

Get real.

She lied about the photo. Is there something else she lied about?

[Lee-Lee]

49. Sure. Ive slept in those same seats in body armor and a helmet

Those planes are so loud inside there isn’t much to do. You have to wear earplugs (look at Frankens ears and see the typical yellow disposable earplugs in his ear) and you can’t hear someone talking unless they are inches from your ear and screaming at you.

So you can read or sleep.

We have zero indication she was pretending to be asleep. So far of the two people who were there who have spoken, her and Franken, neither have made any claims she was awake and pretending to be asleep.

The only place the “she was pretending to be asleep” claims have come from are anonymous twitter accounts with no verification or reason to have that knowledge.

[Fiendish Thingy]

52. Thank you for calling this out

I've been disgusted by the duplicity and hair-splitting here on DU over Franken.

I see this whole wave of sexual abuse and harassment allegations as the natural consequence of electing a sexual predator to the presidency. Enough women have apparently decided they have nothing left to lose in going public.

It doesn't matter if Tweeden was politically motivated to release her story. This wave of allegations was bound to encompass some individuals who are respected, if not revered here at DU. That also is the natural consequence (regardless of Stone's involvement) of the backlash against the election of a sexual predator. Franken's response was the most appropriate of any of the accused men that I have seen. There will be an ethics investigation, Franken will have to face the voters ultimately, and hopefully, this wave will make the thorough investigation of Trump's sexual assaults unavoidable, and media will not be able to minimize his assaults like they did in 2016.

Are there differences between Franken's incident and Moore's? Of course. But brushing off Franken's incident because we like him does a great disservice to all the brave, traumatized women who come forward with their stories, and impedes the reforms needed to eliminate sexual harassment and assault, including in the workplace, whether it is in Congress, a USO tour, a movie set, or a mall.

I say let the chips fall where they may. Franken has called for an investigation, and hopefully the voters of Minnesota will re-elect him. Hopefully the voters of America will show more interest in all their candidates respect, or lack of, for women.

[onenote]

23. A combination slut shaming and boys will be boys post. Sad.

No, I don't think Franken assaulted her. Yes, I think he behaved like a dopey adolescent boy "pretending" to feel up a woman. Should he be run out of town on a rail for it? Of course not. But neither should anyone think what he did was in any way appropriate. And it doesn't matter what Tweeden's past was and it wouldn't have been appropriate if done by a hormone addled 13 year old.

[Stinky The Clown]

27. I think her past matters, too. But not the details you cite.

I think her right wing connections are what matters.

This appears increasingly to have been in the works for a while. Franken's picture gave her the bullet she needed. The rest was cooked up with the likes of Hannity, Roger Stone, and other right wing tricksters, activists, and supporters.

THAT is the part of her post that matters.

[snpsmom]

31. Consent is the only thing that matters

Did she consent to the photo with Franken in it? If not, then it's not okay.

She clearly consented to the Playboy and other photos you reference. That makes them okay.

End of discussion.

[Demit]

38. She evidently consented to Howard Stern's joke about wanting to examine her breasts.

Howard Stern objectifying her to god knows how many thousands of listeners in his audience didn't make her feel like a victim. That was okay by her. But a gag photo that was on a CD given to a limited number of participants who had just watched her be raunchy in a show gave her deep pain that she lived with for 11 years.

Do I have that right?

[prayin4rain]

53. It's complete and total, obvious BS. nt

[oberliner]

32. "someone who posed nude in Playboy would not be traumatized by immature college fratboy humor"

Seriously blows my mind that people are posting things like this here.

[Lee-Lee]

37. Amazing isnt it?

[no_hypocrisy]

33. Three things:

1. Did she ask Al Franken privately before this announcement for an apology?

2. Did she have a reasonable fear that Al Franken (then host of a show on Air America, a floundering radio network) could *ruin* her career?

3. If #s 1 & 2 are negative, then why the press release and public announcement?


- - - - -

Before I'm challenged on #1, allow me to offer my personal experience. 15 years ago, my boss, an attorney, screamed at me and then hit me. Hit me, not hit on me. Hard, on the arm. Of course I was outrage and I quit my job with choice words on the way out. But I gave him the chance to apologize as I demanded. He deferred. I didn't call the police to file an assault charge. I am not traumatized although I do acutely remember the events of that day. It wasn't about revenge. It was about my taking control of the situation.

[riverwalker]

43. At the time, she was more powerful than Al

She had a popular show on ESPN, modeling. Al was just on Air America. Claiming “he was so powerful I was afraid to come out” doesn't wash.

[no_hypocrisy]

48. Exactly.

Which makes her announcement more opportunity than outrage.

But I guess it's water under the bridge as she accepted his apology. (Bet her acceptance made a few teeth gnash as it put out that brushfire.)

[Calista241]

65. Al Franken was a regular on Saturday Night Live going back to the 80's.

Al Franken was a titan in comedy, every bit as big as Chevy Chase, Dana Carvey, Eddie Murphy and Chris Farley.

That's not even taking into account that she was a fucking WOMAN, who would've been accusing a famous MAN of sexual assault.

[cornball 24]

44. IMHO, this is a deliberate attempt by the right wing scumbags to divert and deflect the

the attention away from despicable Moore and Trump. Not a coincidence that they are going after one of the most committed and vocal advocates for the people, All Franken. To summarize, you go after our guy, we go after yours.

[brewens]

45. Does her description of the kiss remind you of the kind of "dirty Jew" things we had propogated

by a certain regime in the last century? Just what kid of people would a description like that be intended to fire up? A professional comedian/actor would force his tongue down her throat and have slimy lips?

If you believe Hannity saw that and it wasn't used against Al to sabotage his Senate campaign, you should get back on the turnip truck you fell off of. Before Al was an enemy Senator, there was no reason for her to show a picture like that of herself joining in on some sexual clowning around with a guy she probably really liked. It was a fun pic that was shared with her for a reason. She probably asked for a copy.

It could be Al threw out that apology to play things a little. The real context may come out soon.

[MaryMagdaline]

46. Does not matter

What her past is. If she is acting in a porno movie and the guy she just had sex with tries to kiss her on the mouth and she does not like it, and he persists, she has a right to complain. Al is also in the entertainment business and should know off stage, leave other actors alone. That's why he apologized.

When you're on the Stern show, you know what's coming. You get abused in exchange for publicity. Her choice.

The photo on stage appears to me that she is glowering at Al. She really doesn't like him. Maybe purely subjective dislike for no reason.
Others in this site have convinced me that she has misled us into believing she was touched. This makes a huge difference to me ... asshole gag vs assault. If she is lying about this, I say go after her.

If Al had said "I was wrong to take a gag picture of pretending to grab her breasts," I would believe al over her. He hadn't said there was no contact. Maybe his call for an investigation is for just that reason. He wants others to ask her point blank if she was touched.

I actually paid good money for Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Liar so I know what we are up against.

[Squinch]

51. The sexism that is bubbling up here is disgusting. Her playboy spreads have nothing whatsoever

to do with this.

Do you think none of the women who pose for playboy have traumatic sexual incidents in their pasts?

Did you really think a joke about molesting a sleeping woman is just "a little guy humor."

You would do well to go back and read Franken's apology. He gets that it is NOT "a little guy humor." He gets that it was something that was truly appalling. He has things to teach you.

There is plenty in this story that creates fodder for distrust. For the love of God, can't you concentrate on those things and keep the knuckle dragging misogyny out of it?

[Spider Jerusalem]

54. "Your Honor, she was asking for it! you should've seen how she was dressed!"

[Denzil_DC]

62. Now apparently we're on to "She hugged a soldier, so she has no room to complain."

I can't keep up. It's pathetic and utterly counterproductive.

[SoCalMusicLover]

56. As I Originally Said...

At worst, what Al did was immature and could cause someone embarrassment. But her? She wasn't some nun that was humiliated and insulted. She likely experienced this sort of thing 1,000's of times over due to her history. Thou dost protest a bit much.

This was a comedic bit by a comedian, who at worst was mocking her past. Surely Al felt that given the situation, and the fact she had become famous by posing nude, would mean she would not exactly be uptight about the picture.

Does she think that guys who see her Playboy layout are just nice and respectful? AND THEN......she had been so traumatized by the past, that she decided to pose again 5 years after this "incident."

[jalan48]

58. I was talking with a friend about this incident and she asked me, "Wouldn't you be upset if

there was a photo taken of you being groped by a woman?" (assuming I didn't know the photo was being taken)- as a male my response was that no, it wouldn't bother me at all. She then asked if it would be OK if it was another man doing the groping and I wasn't so sure I would like that. A woman really can't violate a man sexually while a man can certainly violate a woman. I don't think most men would be OK with the humor if it involved being groped or raped by another man.

[Mellomugwump]

59. Its relevant to me..

She’s spent her adult life making a living as a sex object and then she’s traumatized when a comedian treats her like a sex object? I’m not saying the picture was in good taste, or if true, that an unwelcome kiss is okay, but for somebody who uses her body and sexuality to make money, I doubt she gave it much thought, other than how she could gain some notoriety from it.

Did she ever ask him for an apology before now? I understand why she wouldn’t want to make a big deal out of it at the time, but saying something like, I really didn’t appreciate that, either at the time it happened or even years later, probably would have resulted in the apology that she was supposedly looking for.

For what it’s worth I’m a woman, and yes, I have been kissed without permission and groped, and I think it’s a good thing that it’s no longer considered to be acceptable behavior, but I didn’t suffer from any emotional fallout over it. When I was a young woman, I was thin but very shapely. I hated the comments from men and did my best to hide my sexuality - not flaunt it on a stage or do a photo spread.

I’m not saying she deserved it and an apology isn’t appropriate, I just don’t buy that she experienced any emotional upheaval from it, and that she couldn’t have gotten satisfaction in a more private way.

This was not career killing behavior -it’s behavior worthy of an apology, which he provided immediately.

[Kirk Lover]

63. I don't think the Playboy pics have much to do with it. But her claim that she found out she was

groped by seeing the photo is just not credible. The photo shows her NOT getting groped. If you are going by the photo since you were sleeping how can you say he groped you?