WASHINGTON - US Senator and former Saturday Night Live star Al Franken, accused of groping women, issued a fresh apology Thursday after new complaints of inappropriate behavior emerged this week.
The case of the Minnesota Democrat, who faces a potential Senate ethics investigation, is the latest in a series of sexual assault complaints against prominent American men in the entertainment, sports, political and media worlds.
Two women have anonymously alleged that Franken touched their buttocks at two separate political events in 2007 and 2008, the Huffington Post reported on Wednesday, taking the total number of accusations against him to four.
On the United States holiday of Thanksgiving, Franken wrote that he "feels terribly that I've made some women feel badly," the Star Tribune newspaper in his home state reported.
The former comedian, writer and liberal talk radio host described himself as "a warm person" who likes to hug people when they're being photographed with him, but clearly, his embrace "crossed a line for some women," his statement said.
Franken vowed to move ahead with an effort to regain the trust of his constituents, the Star Tribune said.
Sports broadcaster and former model Leeann Tweeden was the first alleged victim to come forward, accusing Franken of touching her while she slept and kissing her without her consent in 2006.
A second woman, Lindsay Menz, then told CNN that she took a photograph with Franken at a Minnesota fair in 2010, and that he "pulled me in really close, like awkward close, and as my husband took the picture, he put his hand full-fledged on my rear."
Franken said he felt "badly" about Menz's feelings after their encounter. He also apologised profusely to Tweeden and said he would welcome a congressional investigation into his conduct.
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DENVER - Pop star Taylor Swift on Friday won a preliminary round in the federal court trial stemming from her allegation that she was groped by a Colorado disc jockey, as the judge dismissed the DJ's rival claim accusing the singer of wrongfully getting him fired.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge William Martinez left intact Swift's assault and battery countersuit against David Mueller, who had asserted he was falsely accused by the recording star and ousted from his $150,000-a-year job at radio station KYGO-FM under pressure from her.
The judge previously tossed out Mueller's defamation-of-character claim against Swift, originally leaving her only to face a tort claim of interference with contractual obligations and prospective business relations.
The Grammy-winning artist behind such hits as "Fearless" and "I Knew Your Were Trouble" asserted that her representatives informed KYGO management about the alleged groping incident in 2013 but never demanded that Mueller be fired.
Martinez agreed with Swift's lawyer, J. Douglas Baldridge, that the other side had failed to show any basis to support Mueller's contractual interference claims against Swift.
But the judge left the singer's mother, Andrea Swift, and her radio station liaison Frank Bell named as defendants in Mueller's case, meaning the jury will decide if those two should bear any liability for Mueller's dismissal.
The eight-member U.S. District Court jury also will decide whether Mueller is liable for assault and battery, for which Swift is seeking a symbolic $1 in damages. She has pledged to donate any judgment she wins beyond that to charity.
The ruling came on the fifth day of the Denver trial, capped by testimony from Swift's former bodyguard corroborating her account of being groped by Mueller, testifying that he saw the DJ slip his hand under her skirt as they posed for a photo.
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LOS ANGELES - After keeping a low profile for months, Taylor Swift has put herself back in the spotlight in a bare bottom-groping trial, whose potential for embarrassment many celebrities would do their best to avoid.
Yet Swift, one of the biggest names in pop music, shows no signs of wanting to shake off the attention accompanying a sexual assault trial underway this week in Colorado, despite scant support from other female stars.
Instead of settling out of court, Swift, 27, is expected to take the stand and testify in the civil case against a former Denver DJ.
The DJ, David Mueller, 55, sued Swift, claiming he lost his job after she told his manager that he had grabbed her bare buttocks during a meet-and-greet session in Denver four years ago. Mueller has said he is innocent and did nothing inappropriate.
Swift countersued Mueller for assault and is seeking a symbolic $1 in damages to make the point that "you can say no when someone puts their hand on you," her lawyer told the Denver court in opening statements.
Mueller has said he is innocent and did nothing inappropriate.
Her typical strategy has been to write "a nasty song about the person," said Howard Bragman, the founder of Hollywood PR firm Fifteen Minutes. "So clearly, she wants to make a point and she believes she is in the right."
"It's wildly unusual for someone of her caliber to go through with one of these lawsuits. Ninety-nine percent of the time they are settled," said Bragman.
He said trials are unpredictable and can bring up questions over people's sex lives "and no celebrity wants to put themselves up for that kind of situation."
Swift, who has 85 million Twitter and 102 million Instagram followers, has said in depositions she wants the case to serve as an example to other women "who may resist publicly reliving similar outrageous and humiliating acts."
Yet the country-turned-pop star, who has a mixed track record on feminist issues, is not so far getting the support she might expect from her peers for taking a stand.
In January, Swift was accused on social media and by female commentators of being an opportunist feminist for not doing more to support the massive women's marches across the United States that brought the likes of Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry and Madonna onto the streets. She did not respond.
Despite donating $250,000 to Kesha in 2016 for her own sexual assault legal battles, the "Tik-Tok" singer has been silent so far about Swift's case. Lady Gaga, who has spoken about being raped when younger, has also said nothing, as has Madonna.
The Denver trial follows a difficult 12 months for the singer after a much-ridiculed 2016 summer fling with British actor Tom Hiddleston. She also feuded with Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and Katy Perry.
Previously ubiquitous on social media and red carpets, Swift subsequently dropped out of public view. A single tweet in May sending prayers to the victims of the Manchester bombing in England has been her only Twitter posting in more than six months.
Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Leela de Kretser and Lisa Shumaker
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