Minnesota senator and former Saturday Night Live cast member Al Franken  has been accused of sexual misconduct by radio host Leeann Tweeden after she released a photo of him miming pretending to grope her breasts during a 2006 United States Organizations tour.  The photo is taken while Tweeden was sleeping on a military plane. Tweeden has also stated that she was forced to kiss Franken when rehearsing a comedy sketch the two performed for the U.S. troops on the tour.  

  

The scandal was addressed by Colin Jost and Michael Che on Weekend Update, formerly Franken’s stomping grounds.  The pair does not mention Franken’s past as a writer and performer, instead showing Tweeden’s image and focusing entirely on the scandal.  

  

“I know this image looks bad, but, remember, it also is bad,” Jost commented about the image. “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, ‘Oh, come on, he didn’t know any better! He was only 55.’”

  

Since Tweeden’s accusation, a second woman, Lindsay Menz, reported to CNN that Franken groped her at the Minnesota State Fair while the two posed for a photo.

Franken has since apologized for the misconduct, claiming that he does not remember the interactions, but feels badly that the women felt “disrespected.”

  

Franken also told the Star Tribune when asked if he expected more women to come forward, “If you had asked me two weeks ago, ‘Would any woman say I had treated her with disrespect?’ I would have said no. So, this just caught me by surprise…I certainly hope not.”

  

In response to the accusations against Franken, 36 female staff members at Saturday Night Live have composed and signed a letter in his defense.  “What Al did was stupid and foolish, and we think it was appropriate for him to apologize to Ms Tweeden and the public,” the letter reads, according to the Washington Post. “We would like to acknowledge that not one of us ever experienced any inappropriate behavior; and mention our sincere appreciate that he treated each of us with the utmost respect and regard.”

  

Though the signatures of the letter have largely remained unreported, TIME magazine indicates that the three dozen women who signed the letters include writers, production assistants and costume designer from when Franken was hired as one of the first two writers in 1970 up through the present.  Because of the anonymity surrounding the letter, it is unclear whether out-spoken feminists and extremely popular SNL alum Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are among the signatures.