Al Franken’s SNL Joke About Sexual Assault Resurfaces in Wake of Accusations

Only a day after Senator Al Franken was accused of sexual harassment, a sexual assault joke he once wrote for Saturday Night Live has re-emerged.

Back in 1995, Franken wrote for and was featured on the long-running sketch comedy series.

While writing a sketch that lampooned 60 Minutes host Andy Rooney as a cantankerous elderly man who was out of touch with society, Franken reportedly suggested that Rooney should rape 60 Minutes contributor Lesley Stahl, according to The Daily Mail.

This sketch was just one in a series of ongoing bits where Franken’s fellow Saturday Night Live castmate Norm MacDonald played Rooney and co-wrote the scenes.

In this particular sketch MacDonald’s Rooney was going to have a bottle of pills that he would suggest using to knock someone unconscious with.

Macdonald reportedly suggested that Rooney could say something like, “I don’t know what the pills are for – what I do know is, the bottle is mostly filled with cotton.”

”And, ‘I give the pills to Lesley Stahl. Then, when Lesley’s passed out, I take her to the closet and rape her,’” Franken chimed in with. “Or, ‘That’s why you never see Lesley until February.’ Or, ‘When she passes out, I put her in various positions and take pictures of her,’”

This report originally surfaced in 2008, when Franken was running for office in Minnesota. When confronted with the report, Franken’s campaign responded, “Al understands, and the people of Minnesota understand, the difference between what a satirist does and what a senator does.”

As previously reported, radio host Leeann Tweeden recently alleged that Franken was sexually aggressive with her during a USO tour the two were a part of together, and she even presented a photograph that showed Franken simulating grabbing her chest while she was asleep.

Franken released an apology statement and agreed to fully cooperate with an ethics committee investigation.