Staunch #MeToo advocate Alyssa Milano is getting heat on social media for going to bat to defend Joe Biden as he appears to be gearing up for a 2020 presidential run. Meghan McCain also came to Biden’s defense after two women accused the former vice president of inappropriate touching.
On Friday, Nevada assemblywoman Lucy Flores claimed in an essay in The Cut that Biden gave her a kiss on the back of her head that made her feel uncomfortable on the 2014 campaign trail. On Monday, a second woman, Amy Lappos, came forward in The Hartford Courant, saying that during a 2009 fundraiser in Greenwich, CT, that made her feel disrespected.
After the first allegation emerged, Biden defended himself, while still empowering women. "In my many years on the campaign trail and in public life, I have offered countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support and comfort," the statement reads. "And not once -- never -- did I believe I acted inappropriately. If it is suggested I did so, I will listen respectfully. But it was never my intention."
Milano, who used social media as a platform during the sex scandals that rocked Hollywood in 2017, encouraging women to speak out, defended Biden. She alluded to his work with the 2014 “It’s on Us” campaign, which was designed to prevent sex assault at college.
"I am proud to call Joe Biden a friend," she wrote. "He has been a leader and a champion on fighting violence against women for many years, and I have been fortunate to accompany him to events with survivors where he has listened to their stories, empathized with them, and comforted them. That's who Joe Biden is -- a warm, generous individual who believes its on all of us to pay attention to women's stories and experiences."
Her support was not well-received by all. Many social media users accused Milano of being a “partisan hypocrite”. Many others asked her, “What happened to believe all women,” a common refrain Milano and other #MeToo advocates have used when friends of the accused come to their defense.
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