Details continue to emerge concerning Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s alleged sexual assault of a Senate office aide in 1993 — and recent revelations have apparently prompted one of his celebrity supporters to adjust her stance.
“I’m aware of the new developments in Tara Reade’s accusation against Joe Biden,” actress Alyssa Milano tweeted on Tuesday, according to a report from Fox News. “I want Tara, like every other survivor, to have the space to be heard and seen without being used as fodder. I hear and see you, Tara.”
“A decent man”
Late last month, Reade publicly accused Biden of pushing her against a wall and sexually assaulting her while she was an employee of the then-senator’s office, according to NPR. Biden’s campaign, for its part, has issued a denial, and Milano sided with the candidate during an interview with Sirus XM radio host Andy Cohen earlier this month.
At that time, she maintained that “we should believe women and that is an important thing,” though she went on to clarify that it “does not mean at the expense of not giving men their due process,” PageSix reported.
“I just don’t feel comfortable throwing away a decent man that I’ve known for 15 years, in this time of complete chaos, without there being a thorough investigation,” Milano added in her talk with Cohen, according to Fox.
The actress-turned-activist also said at the time that it was her intention to remain “quiet about it” unless more information came to light, though she acknowledged that the approach left her open to criticism on social media, Fox reported.
“She was assaulted”
Over the weeks since that interview, new evidence did emerge, including a video clip from a 1993 episode of CNN’s Larry King Live featuring a caller Reade has identified as her late mother, who discussed her daughter’s “problems” with a “prominent senator.”
Lynda LaCasse, Reade’s former neighbor, added to the narrative in an interview with Business Insider, recalling a conversation she said the two women had about the alleged crime.
“And he put his hand up her skirt, and he put his fingers inside her,” LaCasse told Business Insider of Reade’s claims. “She felt like she was assaulted, and she really didn’t feel there was anything she could do.”
Business Insider also spoke with Lorraine Sanchez, a woman who worked with Reade after she left Capitol Hill. According to her account, Reade said she had been fired after complaining about improper workplace behavior.
These “new developments” led Milano to tweet words of encouragement to Reade, which some critics on Twitter found hypocritical. Reade herself has also criticized Milano, saying in a Fox News interview that “we need to compare how she responded to Brett Kavanaugh,” which she said was “quite different than the talking points she [used] regarding Joe Biden.”
Of course, we really ought to be used to Democrat hypocrisy by now.
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