CBS reporter Lesley Stahl, who was born in Lynn and raised in Swampscott, said she was shocked to learn Saturday Night Live alum Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) wrote a skit that involved drugging and raping her.
A 1995 New York Magazine article quoted Franken and other SNL writers as they workshopped a skit about “60 Minutes” personality Andy Rooney. The piece quotes Franken’s idea, where Rooney claims he drugged and assaulted Stahl.
“And, ‘I give the pills to Lesley Stahl. Then, when Lesley’s passed out, I take her to the closet and rape her’…Or, ‘When she passes out, I put her in various positions and take pictures of her.'”
Franken later shifts the target of the assault from Stahl to anchor Mike Wallace. He has since apologized for the remarks.
“I never heard about this, ever, it came out of nowhere, and the president of the United States tweeted about it,” Stahl told The Item from CBS studios in New York on Friday.
Franken is facing a storm of criticism and a possible ethics investigation after Los Angeles radio anchor Leeann Tweeden accused him of forcibly kissing and groping her in 2006. He was the first member of Congress caught up in the recent wave of allegations of sexual abuse and inappropriate behavior.
Franken has apologized, but there were no signs the issue would go away.
Stahl said she is not angry about the incident.
“I must say it kind of made me smile for some reason, given the absurdity of Saturday Night Live, it’s ridiculous,” Stahl said with a laugh. “I’m more bemused than angry, but a little bit concerned. But I don’t want to go any further than that.”
Stahl said she has met Franken a few times over the years, but does not know him.
President Donald Trump ridiculed Franken in tweets Thursday night: “The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps? ….. And to think that just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women. Lesley Stahl tape?”
Franken, meanwhile, has canceled a sold-out book festival appearance scheduled for Monday in Atlanta, festival organizers said. He had been scheduled to speak and promote his book, “Al Franken, Giant of the Senate.”
Franken, 66, was the latest public figure caught in the deluge of revelations of sexual harassment in Hollywood, business and beyond. The swift rebukes from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers suggest that momentum from the online #metoo movement has begun to spur a culture shift on Capitol Hill, where current and former staffers say misogynistic and predatory behavior has long been an open secret.
Michael Dale-Stein, a spokesman for Franken, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
