Celebrities took to social media Thursday to react to Sen. Al Franken’s (D-MN) announcement that he would resign from the Senate in the coming weeks after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct.
Some stars, including actor Tom Arnold and actress Alyssa Milano, appeared to express disappointment that Franken was resigning. Arnold claimed that Franken’s first accuser, journalist Leeann Tweeden, had been “coached” to bring the senator down, while Milano called attention to previous allegations against Donald Trump.
I’m disappointed with my friend Leeann Tweedon. Her partner at KABC John Phillips is a Roger Stone pal & they coached her for weeks to bring Al Franken down. I’d hoped she’d use her voice to speak out for all women again predators like Roy Moore & Donald Trump but she’s a birther
— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) December 7, 2017
I’ve gone to bat for Leeann 100 times this last month hoping she’d at least reveal her whole truth too but she ghosted me. I know every single detail of this political manipulation. KABC should lose their license. Promoting a fraud is a federal offense & FCC violation. https://t.co/QY1Cxne5tw
— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) December 7, 2017
At the very same time that we are asking Franken to resign from senate — we are allowing an accused child molester to run for senate.
At the very same time that "Silence Breakers" is the #TimePersonOfTheYear — a self professed pussy grabber was runner-up.#MeToo
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) December 6, 2017
Other celebrities like Mark Ruffalo and Patton Oswalt appeared to be satisfied with Franken’s resignation.
“This is what character and humility looks like,” comedian Oswalt tweeted.
Obviously you aren’t into child abuse, obviously you aren’t into sexually harassing women. Neither am I, friend. I hope Al Franken resigns today. I don’t want people like that leading us. We should all set a strong boundary on these issues together.
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) December 7, 2017
This is what character & humility look like. https://t.co/o6iD9dohvW
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) December 7, 2017
Franken announced Thursday that he would resign from the Senate “in the coming weeks,” as eight women have come forward to accuse the Minnesota lawmaker and former Saturday Night Live star of sexual misconduct. Franken had faced calls on Wednesday from dozens of his fellow lawmakers to step down.
“A couple months ago I felt that we had entered an important moment in the history of this country. We finally listened to women… then the conversation turned to me,” Franken said.
“I also think that it gave some people the false impression that I did things I have not done,” he added. “Some things aren’t true, while others I remember very differently.”
Below, find Hollywood’s reaction to Franken’s resignation announcement.
The Dems are always ready to dump one of their own. The GOP stand behind every child molester and every harasser, including POTUS. As unpleasant as it is to face, that's political suicide.
— Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) December 7, 2017
Senator @alfranken has resigned. He is accused of far less than the accused assaulter in the White House. And the GOP rallies around an accused pedophile in Alabama. Shocking! #RoyMoore.
— Barbra Streisand (@BarbraStreisand) December 7, 2017
I HOPE THIS IS FAKE NEWS – Report: Franken will resign Thursday https://t.co/INnwaxWKEH
— ROSIE (@Rosie) December 7, 2017
We are spending a lot time saying Al Franken has to go and not nearly enough time MAKING Roy Moore go. Prioritize y’all.
— Amber Tamblyn (@ambertamblyn) December 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/kumailn/status/938815335787937792
https://twitter.com/DonCheadle/status/938820101457022981
A dark day for America. Franken bullied out of office. What did he do? Nasty Sean Hannity is gleeful. They win again. Democrats eat their young.
— Eric Bogosian (@ericbogosian) December 7, 2017
Good on #AlFranken for doing the right thing. Now let me remind everyone that a man who openly brags about grabbing women by the pussy is still our President while campaigning for an accused child molester who looks like he’s going to win a Senate seat.
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) December 7, 2017
Also… Anyone else for #DueProcess ? How about an investigation into @alfranken (and @MooreSenate and @realDonaldTrump !!!) FIRST? @ACLU @benwizner @billyeichner @billmaher @SarahKSilverman @AoDespair @petersarsgaard @jeremyscahill https://t.co/llSTGlhtUa
— Maggie Gyllenhaal (@mgyllenhaal) December 7, 2017
No. Happy to see Franken go when offenses are evidenced. Wish he would have endured the ethics probe because then, when Moore arrives in the Senate, precedent would demand the same of him. There is a process. It matters that we ran past it here. https://t.co/fsmf4SvAIz
— David Simon (@AoDespair) December 7, 2017
Did we police our own or eat our own today? I don’t know, time will tell. I do know that Rodger Stone is taking a victory lap somewhere, and I feel Sick. https://t.co/KDI8EtxkyO
— Chaz Bono (@ChazBono) December 7, 2017
Democrats are sitting there in the Senate thinking that by forcing Franken to resign they are taking a stand and showing that Democrats have a zero tolerance for sexual harassment. That will NOT be the lesson learned here.
— Clay Aiken (@clayaiken) December 7, 2017
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum
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