Former VP Al Gore accused of sexual assault

Well I certainly didn’t see this one coming. A massage therapist has accused former vice president Al Gore of sexually assaulting* her in a hotel room in 2006.

You can find a full report from a 2009 interview with the woman here – though be warned, it’s very graphic and very upsetting. Gawker also has a shorter run-down.

So far, most of the media coverage has focused on the fact that the woman contacted the police in 2006 but didn’t want to be interviewed or an investigation to be opened until early 2009, when she made a statement. She then canceled subsequent interviews with the police and her lawyer notified authorities that the matter would be handled civilly. While I’m all for reporting the full facts, jumping to the conclusion that she must be lying is just wrong – and so predictable. (Salon.com went as far as to headline a piece, “3 reasons to doubt the Al Gore sex assault story.”)

Now, there’s no way for us to know what’s true and what’s not, but I would really hate to see folks automatically come to Gore’s defense because of his reputation in the progressive and liberal spheres. In fact, the woman accusing Gore seems to know all too well that this kind of defense (and victim-blaming) is a distinct possibility. From her statement detailing how she’s been shunned by her Lefty friends:

[I]t’s like being the ultimate traitor…Another [friend] who was basically asking me to just suck it up, otherwise the world’s going to be destroyed from global warming. And I was like, these are women. I’m like, where is the feminist in you. What the hell?

She also notes in her statement that she was worried about coming forward because of the damage it could do to her reputation, especially considering how highly people think of Gore, and of how powerful he is.

So I hope that no matter what comes of this, those of us who have supported Gore and his work in the past can write and talk about this accusation without falling into hackneyed victim-blaming narratives. Because liberal dudes assault women too. And if we treat this story any differently than another sexual assault accusation, we’re doing this woman – and all women – a great disservice.

* All of the media coverage so far is describing the incident as “unwanted sexual advances” or “unwanted sexual contact” but in her statement the woman describes it as “assault,” and what she describes is certainly assault – thus my word choice.