Leeann Tweeden is an American radio broadcaster,
model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure.
Models c ...
and sports commentator. She is co-host of ''Dr. Drew Midday Live'' on Radio
790 KABC in Los Angeles.
[
]
Early life
Tweeden was born in Manassas, Virginia
Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisdi ...
, to Bill Tweeden, a retired Air Force Chief Mechanic, and his wife Catherine. She is of Filipino descent on her mother's side. After graduating from Osbourn Park High School
Osbourn Park High School is a Prince William County, Virginia public high school in a small county island between the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park, southwest of Washington D.C.
Osbourn Park serves the mid-part of the county. The co ...
in 1991, Tweeden moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in modeling.
Career
In 1992, while working as a hostess at a Hooters
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 (with ...
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 ''Fitness Beach'' was a TV physical fitness, fitness and exercise show that aired on ESPN2 in the 1990s.
The cast of the program included Kathy Derry, Deborah Khazei, Denise Paglia and Leeann Tweeden. Jennifer Goodwin, the fitness model (not to be ...
''. Tweeden modeled for promotional work for Hooters (which included an appearance in the restaurant's 1994 calendar), Venus International, and Frederick's of Hollywood
Frederick's of Hollywood is an American lingerie brand formerly with stores in shopping malls across the United States. In 2015, all 111 retail stores were closed in advance of a bankruptcy filing. The brand was acquired by Authentic Brands Gro ...
.[ In the early 2000s, Tweeden hosted many segments of the Fox Sports Net show, ''Bluetorch TV''. Tweeden was a correspondent for Fox Sports Networks' '']The Best Damn Sports Show Period
''The Best Damn Sports Show Period'' was an American sports television show that aired on Fox Sports Net and Comcast SportsNet. The show regularly featured irreverent and opinionated interviews with top athletes, coaches, celebrities, and entertai ...
'' from 2001 to 2007. In 2008, Tweeden became the third hostess of the NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
late night television
Late night television is one of the dayparting, dayparts in television broadcast programming. It follows prime time and precedes the overnight television show graveyard slot. The slot generally runs from about 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Eastern Tim ...
series ''Poker After Dark
''Poker After Dark'' is an hour-long poker television program that originally aired on NBC, premiering on January 1, 2007. ''. She has also appeared on the political discussion series ''Hannity
''Hannity'' is an American conservative television political talk program on Fox News hosted by Sean Hannity. Episodes air live at 9:00 p.m. from Monday through Thursday, while episodes that air on Fridays are pre-recorded, with a repeat ...
'' in 2011 and 2012.[ She was a member of the "Great American Panel" and also occasionally appeared on the panel of '']Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld
''Red Eye'', also known as ''Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld'' from 2007 to 2015 and ''Red Eye w/ Tom Shillue'' from 2015 to 2017, was an American late-night/early-morning satirical talk show on Fox News, which aired at 3:00 a.m. ET Tuesday throu ...
''. Tweeden was seen in pre- and post-game coverage of the Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...
of Anaheim on Fox Sports West
Bally Sports West is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, and operated as part of Bally Sports, along with its sister network Bally Spor ...
and on Fox Sports 1
Fox Sports 1 (FS1) is an American pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 replaced the motorsports network Speed on August 17, 2013, at the same time that its companion channel Fox Sports ...
's '' UFC Tonight'', with Kenny Florian
Kenneth Alan Florian (born May 26, 1976) is an American retired mixed martial artist and commentator who formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He formerly served as an analyst for UFC on Fox from 2011–2018, and he als ...
and Ariel Helwani.
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.["Leeann Tweeden Named News Anchor For KABC/Los Angeles 'McIntyre In The Morning'"]
, AllAccess.com, February 7, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
On January 7, 2019, Tweeden became the co-host of '' Dr. Drew Midday'' on KABC, 790 AM.
Appearances
In August 1996, Tweeden appeared on the cover of ''Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
'' magazine and as part of a fitness model pictorial for that issue. She did not appear nude. In December 2011, at 38 years old, she again appeared on the cover of ''Playboy'', this time in a nude pictorial.
In 2002, she was a guest character in the motocross
Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom.
History
Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competiti ...
video game ''Freekstyle
''Freekstyle'' is a 2002 motocross racing video game for the PlayStation 2, GameCube and Game Boy Advance. There are four levels of gameplay: the circuit, a quick race, freestyle, and free run.
The game features an assortment of real-life FMX ...
'' as a motocross rider. The March 2007 issue of ''FHM
''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. Its master edition contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which has featured models, actres ...
'' (the final U.S. issue ever printed) featured Tweeden as the cover girl. As part of Hooters' 25th anniversary in 2008, she was named among "The Top Hooters Girls of all time".
Since 2002, Tweeden has participated in 16 tours with the USO
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
including 12 to Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
.[
]
Allegations against Al Franken
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
Leo Joseph Ryan Jr. (May 5, 1925 – November 18, 1978) was an American teacher and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the U.S. representative from California's 11th congressional district from 1973 until his assassina ...
.[ She reported Ryan's chief of staff "kissed me and stuck his tongue in my mouth". McIntyre said that led to a conversation with Tweeden about an alleged incident between her and Minnesota U.S. Senator ]Al Franken
Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...
. Two weeks later, Republican operative Roger Stone
Roger Jason Stone (born Roger Joseph Stone Jr.; August 27, 1952) is an American conservative political consultant and lobbyist.
Since the 1970s, Stone has worked on the campaigns of Republican politicians, including Richard Nixon, Ronald Rea ...
wrote, "It’s Al Franken's 'time in the barrel.'[ Franken next in long list of Democrats to be accused of 'grabby' behavior."][ Following the posting of Tweeden's story, far-right radio show host and prominent ]conspiracy theorist
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
*
*
* The term has a nega ...
. Alex Jones
Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American far-right and alt-right radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas, which the Genesis Communications Network broadcas ...
, broadcast that Stone had told him, in advance, "Get ready. Franken’s next". Stone told author and ''New Yorker
New Yorker or ''variant'' primarily refers to:
* A resident of the State of New York
** Demographics of New York (state)
* A resident of New York City
** List of people from New York City
* ''The New Yorker'', a magazine founded in 1925
* '' The ...
'' reporter Jane Mayer
Jane Meredith Mayer (born 1955) is an American investigative journalist who has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1995. She has written for the publication about money in politics; government prosecution of whistleblowers; the Uni ...
that a Fox broadcasting executive, a friend of Tweeden had advised him of the story.[
On November 16, 2017, Tweeden gave an interview to 790 KABC and wrote in a post on its website that Franken behaved inappropriately toward her when the two were on a 2006 ]USO tour
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
to the Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
. Tweeden stated that Franken, who in 2008 had been elected to the Senate from Minnesota, insisted that they rehearse the kiss that appeared in the script for a skit in the USO show: "I said 'OK' so he would stop badgering me. We did the line leading up to the kiss and then 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."[ She said she pushed him away, feeling "disgusted and violated".][Tweeden, Leeann (November 16, 2017]
"Senator Al Franken Kissed and Groped Me Without My Consent, And There’s Nothing Funny About It"
, 790KABC.[Wang, Amy B; Ye Hee Lee, Michelle; Bever, Lindsey (November 16, 2017)]
"'Al Franken kissed and groped me without my consent,' broadcaster Leeann Tweeden says"
, ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''.[Fandos, Nicholas (November 16, 2017)]
"Senator Al Franken Accused of Groping a Woman in 2006"
, ''The New York Times''. Tweeden wrote that Franken also posed for a photograph with her while she was asleep on the C-17 cargo plane flying home.[ 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".][ A subsequent review of the photo revealed that it may have been 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.][
Although Tweeden stated "he wrote that sketch just to kiss me", it was later confirmed that the same kissing skit had been performed on the USO tour by several other actresses in previous years. It had been intended as a throwback to the Bob Hope/Raquel Welch USO skits of the Vietnam era. Numerous witnesses on that tour recalled that Tweeden had performed the skit on multiple occasions.] CNBC's John Harwood said in defense of Franken, referring to a video taken of her "humping" a surprised, married comedian Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
on a similar 2004 USO tour, " at 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." 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." He issued a longer apology later, which Tweeden accepted. Other accusations of sexual misconduct—including grabbing a woman's bottom while posing for a photo—followed Tweeden's.[ Franken resigned from the Senate on January 2, 2018.][
]
Personal life
Tweeden met her husband, Chris Dougherty, a pilot for the California Air National Guard
The California Air National Guard (CA ANG) is one of three components of the California National Guard, a reserve of the United States Air Force, and part of the National Guard of the United States.
As militia units, the units in the California ...
, during a USO tour. They married in 2010. They have two children, son Kane and daughter Kaia.
She considers herself fiscally conservative
Fiscal conservatism is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism, limited government, and ''laissez-faire'' economics.M. O. Dickerson et al., '' ...
and said that she voted twice for President George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
.[
Tweeden made an appearance on the season 10 finale of '']That Metal Show
''That Metal Show'' is a talk show that premiered on VH1 Classic on November 15, 2008 and ended on May 9, 2015 with a span of 14 seasons. Hosted by Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine, the series features three hosts interviewing musi ...
''.
See also
* Deanna Merryman
Deanna Merryman (born 1972) is an American actress, glamor model, and fitness model. She was part of ''Playboy's Great Lingerie Model Search'' in 1997 and was a contestant in the Miss Hawaiian Tropic beauty pageant in 1998; later becoming a mod ...
, a fellow model who attended high school with Tweeden.
Notes
References
External links
*
*
''Dr. Drew Midday Live with Leeann Tweeden''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tweeden, Leeann
Al Franken
Female models from Virginia
American television personalities
American women television personalities
Hooters people
Living people
People from Manassas, Virginia
American models of Filipino descent
American women journalists
American writers of Filipino descent
Journalists from Virginia
Osbourn Park High School alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)