Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) once joked about drugging and raping journalist Lesley Stahl, an article in New York magazine reported at the time.
The March 13, 1995 issue of New York magazine describes Franken brainstorming a skit in which CBS’s Andy Rooney brags about raping Stahl. Franken goes on to joke about raping a man: CBS’s Mike Wallace.
Casually detailed on page six of New York magazine’s “Comedy Isn’t Funny,” Franken was throwing out ideas for a comedy skit:
They make grudging progress on a sketch written by Norm MacDonald. It’s a parody of Andy Rooney—not exactly a fresh target. Rooney, played by MacDonald, is cleaning out his desk and finds a bottle of sedatives, empty except for cotton.
“Should I mention cotton more than once?” MacDonald asks, and it’s debated for ten minutes. No—just one cotton reference stays in, but now they can’t decide whether the pills are for the treatment of “hallucinations,” “mood swings,” “dementia,” or “NRA dementia.”
“That’s too much,” Downey says. “It’s his attitude that’s funny, the fact that he’s ignoring something that’s obviously important.”
MacDonald: “So I can say, ‘I don’t know what the pills are for—what I do know is, the bottle is mostly filled with cotton.’”
Franken: “And, ‘I give the pills to Lesley Stahl. Then, when Lesley’s passed out, I take her to the closet and rape her.’ 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.’”
Downey: “‘Here’s a picture of Ed Bradley.’”
MacDonald: “What if Rooney rapes Mike Wallace? And then says, ‘I guess that makes me bad.’ Is it funnier with a black guy? Or two old white guys?”
Franken: “What about, ‘I drag Mike into my office and rape him. Right here! I guess that makes me bad.’”
The discussion sputters for another ten minutes. Then the writers lose interest and drift over to the newly arrived food.
Franken is currently embroiled in a new scandal involving accusations he groped a woman while she was asleep and forced himself upon her to kiss her despite her objections.