Leeann Tweeden | |
|---|---|
 Tweeden at Camp Arifjan in December 2007 | |
| Born | |
| Occupation(s) | Model, announcer, television personality |
| Spouse | Chris Dougherty (m. 2010) |
| Children | 2 |
| Modeling information | |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) |
| Hair color | brunette |
| Eye color | brown |
| Website | leeanntweeden |
Leeann Tweeden is an American radio broadcaster, model and sports commentator. She is co-host of Dr. Drew Midday Live on Radio 790 KABC in Los Angeles. [1]
Tweeden was born in Manassas, Virginia, [2] to Bill Tweeden, a retired Air Force Chief Mechanic, and his wife Catherine. [3] She is of Filipino descent on her mother's side. After graduating from Osbourn Park High School in 1991, Tweeden moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in modeling. [4]
In 1992, while working as a hostess at a Hooters restaurant in Colorado Springs, Colorado, she won first place in the Venus International Model Search. This break led to national exposure, including a regular role as a fitness model on the TV show Fitness Beach . Tweeden modeled for promotional work for Hooters (which included an appearance in the restaurant's 1994 calendar), Venus International, and Frederick's of Hollywood. [4] In the early 2000s, Tweeden hosted many segments of the Fox Sports Net show, Bluetorch TV. [5] Tweeden was a correspondent for Fox Sports Networks' The Best Damn Sports Show Period from 2001 to 2007. In 2008, Tweeden became the third hostess of the NBC late night television series Poker After Dark . [6] She has also appeared on the political discussion series Hannity in 2011 and 2012. [2] She was a member of the "Great American Panel" and also occasionally appeared on the panel of Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld . [7] [8] Tweeden was seen in pre- and post-game coverage of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Fox Sports West and on Fox Sports 1's UFC Tonight , with Kenny Florian and Ariel Helwani. [7]
On February 7, 2017, Tweeden joined the cast of the Los Angeles morning radio show McIntyre in the Morning on KABC, 790 AM as the news anchor. [9] [10]
On January 7, 2019, Tweeden became the co-host of Dr. Drew Midday on KABC, 790 AM. [1]
In August 1996, Tweeden appeared on the cover of Playboy magazine and as part of a fitness model pictorial for that issue. She did not appear nude. [11] In December 2011, at 38 years old, she again appeared on the cover of Playboy, and in that issue was featured in a nude pictorial. [12] [13]
In 2002, she was a guest character in the motocross video game Freekstyle as a motocross rider.[ citation needed ] The March 2007 issue of FHM (the final U.S. issue ever printed) featured Tweeden as the cover girl. [14] As part of Hooters' 25th anniversary in 2008, she was named among "The Top Hooters Girls of all time". [15]
Since 2002, Tweeden has participated in 16 tours with the USO including 12 to Afghanistan and Iraq. [2] [16] [17]
On October 30, 2017, California Congresswoman Jackie Speier was interviewed by the McIntyre show about a sexual assault that occurred when she was in her 20s and was a congressional staffer for Representative Leo Ryan. [18] She alleged that Ryan's chief of staff "kissed me and stuck his tongue in my mouth". [19] According to the show's host Doug McIntyre, that led to a conversation with Tweeden about an alleged incident of sexual harassment between her and Minnesota U.S. Senator Al Franken. [18] With McIntyre's assistance, Tweeden prepared to make a public statement about her allegations. [18]
Ahead of Tweeden's public statements, a Fox news executive tipped off conservative political consultant Roger Stone. Stone circulated news of the allegations to right-wing media and made Twitter posts referring to the allegations, including a statement that "It’s Al Franken's 'time in the barrel.'". [18] [20] Following the posting of Tweeden's story, far-right [28] radio show host and prominent [lower-alpha 1] conspiracy theorist [38] Alex Jones broadcast that Stone had told him, in advance, "Get ready. Franken’s next". [18]
On November 16, 2017, Tweeden went public with the allegations in a blog post and radio interview. According to Tweeden, Franken kissed her on a 2006 USO tour during a rehearsal for a comedy skit in which they kissed. She wrote that he "came at me, put his hand on the back of my head, mashed his lips against mine and aggressively stuck his tongue in my mouth." [39] She said she pushed him away, feeling "disgusted and violated". [39] Tweeden's post alleged that Franken "wrote that sketch just to kiss me". [18] Tweeden wrote that Franken also posed for a photograph with her while she was asleep on the C-17 cargo plane flying home. [40] According to The Washington Post, the photograph "shows Franken looking into a camera, his hands either over or on Tweeden’s chest as she slept". [41] [42] [43]
Franken disputed Tweeden's version. In a long-form article covering the allegations for The New Yorker, Jane Mayer wrote that, according to Franken, Tweeden's "accusations appropriated jokes from comic routines that they’d performed together". [18] Franken denied writing the skit solely to kiss Tweeden; he had performed similar skits involving kissing in 2004 and 2005. These were intended as references to the "frankly lascivious" Bob Hope/Raquel Welch USO skits of the Vietnam era. [18] The photograph may have been taken as a parody of a skit that had been used in the USO show's comedy routine. In the skit, Franken appears as a doctor who informs Tweeden's character that "a woman your age should have a complete breast examination every year"; Franken then approaches her with his arms outstretched and his hands aimed at her chest. [18]
CNBC's John Harwood defended Franken by pointing out that Tweeden had been filmed on a 2004 USO tour "humping" comedian Robin Williams: "[T]hat pic was obviously a joke, not groping, just like Leeann Tweeden wrapping her leg around Robin Williams and smacking his butt; entertainment for soldiers deployed overseas is raunchy like that." [44]
Franken responded, saying: "I certainly don't remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann. [...] As to the photo, it was clearly intended to be funny but wasn't. I shouldn't have done it." [45] He issued a longer apology later, [46] which Tweeden accepted. [47] Other accusations of sexual misconduct—including grabbing a woman's bottom while posing for a photo—followed Tweeden's. [18] Franken resigned from the Senate on January 2, 2018. [48] [18]
Tweeden met her husband, Chris Dougherty, a pilot for the California Air National Guard, during a USO tour. They married in 2010. They have two children, son Kane and daughter Kaia. [2] [49]
She considers herself fiscally conservative and said that she voted twice for President George W. Bush. [2]
Tweeden made an appearance on the season 10 finale of That Metal Show .
Alan Stuart Franken is an American politician and comedian who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He first gained fame as a writer and performer on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, where he worked for three stints. He first served as a writer for the show from 1975 to 1980, and returned from 1985 to 1995 as a writer and, briefly, a cast member. After decades as an entertainer, he became a prominent liberal political activist, hosting The Al Franken Show on Air America Radio.
Alexander Emerick Jones is an American far-right radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts The Alex Jones Show from Austin, Texas, which was previously broadcast by the Genesis Communications Network across the United States via syndicated and internet radio. Jones's website, InfoWars, promotes conspiracy theories and fake news, as do his other websites, NewsWars and PrisonPlanet. Jones has provided a platform and support for white nationalists, giving Nick Fuentes a platform on his website, Banned.Video, as well as providing an "entry point" to their ideology. In 2023, leaked texts from Jones's phone revealed that he created the website National File to evade social media bans on InfoWars content.
Hooters is the registered trademark used by two American restaurant chains: Hooters, Inc., based in Clearwater, Florida, and Hooters of America, Inc. based in Atlanta, Georgia, and owned by the private investment firm Nord Bay Capital. The Hooters name is a double entendre referring to both a North American slang term for women's breasts and the logo.
There are various conspiracy theories that attribute the preparation and execution of the September 11 attacks against the United States to parties other than, or in addition to, al-Qaeda. These include the theory that high-level government officials had advance knowledge of the attacks. Government investigations and independent reviews have rejected these theories. Proponents of these theories assert that there are inconsistencies in the commonly accepted version, or that there exists evidence that was ignored, concealed, or overlooked.
Brande Nicole Roderick is an American model and actress known for her appearances in Baywatch and Playboy. In April 2000, she was selected as Playmate of the Month and then became the Playmate of the Year in 2001.
Douglas John McIntyre is the author of Frank’s Shadow, his debut novel, published in July, 2023 and is the former host of McIntyre In The Morning on KABC 790 Los Angeles. He retired after 22 years in broadcasting on December 14, 2018. McIntyre is a long-time columnist for the Southern California News Group which includes the Los Angeles Daily News.
KABC is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, and serving the Greater Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts a conservative talk radio format. The studios are located in the Los Angeles suburb of Culver City. The transmitter is off West Martin Luther King Boulevard in the Crenshaw District, shared with KWKW and KFOX. KABC’s power is 6,600 watts daytime and 7,900 watts nighttime, using a directional antenna. The station is the Los Angeles affiliate of Armstrong & Getty, The Ben Shapiro Show, The Dan Bongino Show, The Michael Knowles Show, America in the Morning and Red Eye Radio. Local shows are hosted by John Phillips, Frank Mottek and Randy Wang. National news from NBC News Radio and local news updates begin each hour's broadcast. Former sister station KABC-TV simulcasts the 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. part of the morning newscast weekdays on KABC-AM.
Shana Hiatt is an American model and presenter who has appeared in several magazines.
InfoWars is an American far-right conspiracy theory and fake news website owned by Alex Jones. It was founded in 1999, and operates under Free Speech Systems LLC.
Laura Croft is an American model. She was the Playmate of the Month for the July 2008 issue of Playboy magazine.
Reptilians are supposed reptilian humanoids, which play a prominent role in fantasy, science fiction, ufology, and conspiracy theories. The idea of reptilians was popularised by David Icke, an anti-semitic conspiracy theorist who claims shapeshifting reptilian aliens control Earth by taking on human form and gaining political power to manipulate human societies. Icke has stated on multiple occasions that many world leaders are, or are possessed by, so-called reptilians.
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut. The perpetrator, Adam Lanza, fatally shot his mother before murdering 20 students and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and later committed suicide. A number of fringe figures have promoted conspiracy theories that doubt or dispute what occurred at Sandy Hook. Various conspiracy theorists have claimed, for example, that the massacre was actually orchestrated by the U.S. government as part of an elaborate plot to promote stricter gun control laws.
A crisis actor is a trained actor, role player, volunteer, or other person engaged to portray a disaster victim during emergency drills to train first responders such as police, firefighters or EMS personnel. Crisis actors are used to create high-fidelity simulations of disasters in order to allow first responders to practice their skills and help emergency services to prepare and train in realistic scenarios as part of full-scale disaster exercises. The term has also been used by conspiracy theorists who claim that some mass shootings and other terror events are staged for the advancement of various political objectives.
Paul Joseph Watson is a British right-wing YouTuber, radio host, and conspiracy theorist. Until July 2016, Watson embraced the label "alt-right", but he now identifies as part of the New Right. In May 2019, Facebook and Instagram permanently banned Watson for violation of hate speech policies.
Donald Trump, the president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, has been accused of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, including non-consensual kissing or groping, by at least 25 women since the 1970s. In June 2019, writer E. Jean Carroll alleged in New York magazine that Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in 1995 or 1996. Two friends of Carroll stated that Carroll had previously confided in them about the incident. Trump called the allegation fiction and denied ever meeting Carroll, despite a photo of them together from 1987 being published by the magazine. In November 2022, Carroll filed a suit against Trump for battery under the Adult Survivors Act. On May 9, 2023, a New York jury in a civil case found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation against Carroll, but found him not liable for rape. They awarded Carroll US$5 million in damages. In July 2023, Judge Kaplan stated that the jury had actually found that Trump had raped Carroll according to the common definition of the word as they had ruled that Trump had forcibly and nonconsensually penetrated Carroll's vagina with his fingers. New York state's definition at the time defined rape as solely nonconsensual penetration of the vagina by a penis. A September 2023 partial summary judgment again found Trump liable for defaming Carroll. On January 26, 2024, Trump was ordered to pay Carroll an additional $83.3 million in damages.
"Pizzagate" is a conspiracy theory that went viral during the 2016 United States presidential election cycle, falsely claiming that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) had discovered a pedophilia ring linked to members of the Democratic Party while searching through Anthony Weiner's emails. It has been extensively discredited by a wide range of organizations, including the Washington, D.C. police.
The 2017–18 United States political sexual scandals saw a heightened period of allegations of sexual misconduct, harassment and assault, and resulted in the subsequent firings and resignations of American politicians. Some of the allegations are linked to the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases starting in October 2017 amid the wider MeToo movement.
