Sen.
Al Franken canceled his Sunday appearance at the
Miami Book Fair amid allegations over sexual misconduct.
The call to Book Fair officials came Friday afternoon, said Juan Mendieta, director of communications for Miami Dade College, host site of the fair. No reason was given, he said, but the buzz is that the Minnesota senator is canceling his tour to promote his new book, “Al Franken: Giant of the Senate.”
The Miami cancellation comes hours after the former “Saturday Night Live” comedian called off his scheduled appearance at an Atlanta book festival on Monday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Chatter on the Miami Dade College Wolfson campus, where the Book Fair is held, dominated Friday that he would likely do the same here.
Franken’s book tour was scheduled long before he became embroiled Thursday in a
sexual harassment scandal after broadcaster Leeann Tweeden said Franken aggressively kissed her and stuck his tongue in her mouth while rehearsing a skit for a USO tour they were starring in. In addition, she alleges that he placed his hands on her breasts while she slept. Someone took a picture of a smiling Franken with his hands on her chest.
On Thursday, Franken posted a lengthy apology to Tweeden on his Facebook page. In the post, he said, in part: “Over the last few months, all of us — including and especially men who respect women — have been forced to take a good, hard look at our own actions and think (perhaps, shamefully, for the first time) about how those actions have affected women.”