It has been five years since comedian turned elected official Al Franken resigned from his lofty position in the U.S. Senate amid a #MeToo-inspired scandal, but the former Minnesota senator is returning to his civilian job with a temporary stint hosting a popular late-night show.
Franken is filling in this week as guest host on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”
The program is currently in search of a new permanent host for the fourth time since its creation in the mid-90s, following the sudden departure of Trevor Noah.
Noah spent seven years as host, guiding the show through its lo-fi, broadcast-from-home pandemic era, having taken the reins from longtime host Jon Stewart, who established the show’s brand as something a little weightier than simply a spoof of the news.
Franken meanwhile was one of the founding cogs of Saturday Night Live in 1975 as both a writer and sometime-performer. Eventually, he would complete three different stints on SNL, most notably creating the satirical self-help character Stuart Smalley and winning five Emmys.
He made the move to the political realm and was elected to the U.S. Senate from Minnesota in 2008 in one of the closest elections in Senate history. (He won by 312 votes.)
Franken was re-elected to a second term in 2014, but that term was cut short by his resignation in 2018 due to sexual misconduct allegations that arose as part of the #MeToo movement.
The former senator was accused of forcibly kissing a fellow performer during a skit rehearsal as part of a USO tour in 2006, and a photo surfaced of Franken posed as if about to grope her while she slept. The accusation led to other allegations from other women.
Franken issued an apology, which was accepted publicly by his initial accuser, radio host Leeann Tweeden. He then resigned from the U.S. Senate under heavy pressure from the Democratic party.
Since 2019, he has hosted “The Al Franken Podcast.”
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