In a 1999 episode of the Howard Stern Show, a producer claimed that Al Franken confessed to him prior to the show that he once groped Kathie Lee Gifford, co-host of “Live with Regis and Kathie Lee.” During Stern’s interview with then-comedian Al Franken, executive producer Gary Dell’Abate recounted a conversation he’d had with Franken in the green room that day. “He told me that he’s actually co-hosted with Kathie,” Dell’Abate said. “He said he kissed her and grabbed her a*s.”

Franken didn’t deny the conversation happened, and Stern quickly changed the subject, asking whether Franken thought Gifford was a “phony.”

Later in the segment, a caller named “Big Black” said that Mike Walker, a reporter for the National Enquirer, reported the groping incident six months prior. “He said that when Al was on the Kathie Lee show that she did get mad and she said, ‘never have Al back’ because she got mad that he grabbed her a*s and everything.”

“Did you grab Kathie Lee’s a*s?” Stern asked.

“She grabbed my a*s,” Franken quipped. “Yeah, no, I think he reported that and it was wrong.”

“I did not grab her a*s” Franken insisted. “I certainly did not touch her in any way to arouse her or gratify her.”

The sexually charged interview proceeded for several more minutes. When Big Black continued to press for answers about the alleged groping incident, Stern shot back: “Oh, whatever. I got Al here, I’ll take his word for it.”

Stern didn’t bother to ask Franken whether he had indeed bragged in the green room about groping Gifford. Given Franken’s recent admissions about grabbing various women, it’s not hard to believe that Kathie Lee was also a victim of his roaming hands. The fact that he may have bragged about it to a Howard Stern producer, however, certainly adds another layer to his perversion.

**WARNING: Sexually Graphic Video Below**