. >> reporter: the he in lyanne tweeden statement is senator al model and broadcaster says forcibly kissed and groped her back stage during a uso tour in kuwait in 2006. >> he mashed his lips against my face, and he stuck his tongue in my mouth so fast. >> reporter: she says she repelled his advances with equal force. >> i remember i pushed him off with my hands and i just remember, i almost punched him. and i said if you ever do that to me again, i'm not going to be so nice about it the second time. >> reporter: tweeden says although the uso tour lasted at least another two weeks, she made sure to never be left alone with franken and is going public now to help others. >> this is happening in middle america. this is happening, you know, for women that work at chili's. this is happening for women who work in an office building somewhere in iowa, in kansas, in florida. >> reporter: in a statement thursday afternoon, franken said the first thing i want to do is apologize, to lyanne, to everyone else who was part of i respect women. i don't respect men who don't. and the fact that my own acti

lyanne tweeden says he appears to have fondled her breasts while she was asleep on the flight home and he forcibly kissed her against her will while they rehearsed for a skit. >> he just put his hand on the back of my head and he mashed his face against me. it happened so fast. he mashed his lips against my face and he stuck his tongue in my mouth so fast. >> lyanne tweeden is originally from manassas. she's a morning news anchor for wabc radio in los angeles. as for senator franken's response, he issued a statement apologizing to lyanne tweeden and everyone else on the tour. he wrote that he respects women and the fact that he has given people a good reason to doubt that makes him ashamed. franken also said that held gladly cooperate with an ethics investigation. our team coverage continues now with nbc's dan shen amen and knew accusers coming forward in the roy moore scandal. >> judge roy moore. >> digging in for the long fight. this is an effort by mitch mcconnell examine his croneys to steal this election from the people of alabama and they will not stand for it. >> reporter: this

lyanne tweeden said it happened in 2006 when they were out on a uso tour. franken is a saturday night live comedian as you may know. he had allegedly written a sketch for the two of them that involved a kiss. >> tweeden claims he insisted on rehearsing even though she didn't want to. >> and he just sort of came at me we did the line. he came at me. before you even know it, you get close and he put his his face against -- it happened so fast. he mashed his lips against my face and he stuck his tongue in my mouth so fast and i said, if you ever do that to me again, i'm not going to be so nice about it the second time. and i just walked out away from him. >> franken released a written statement about the accusations that reads in part, quote, i want to apologize to lyanne and to everyone who counseled me to be an ally and supporter and champion of women. he goes on to say, and the fact that my own actions have given people a good reason to doubt that makes me feel ashamed. and there's this reaction today from virginia senator tim kaine. >> the allegations are