Will & Grace star Debra Messing is forced to delete tweet suggesting Joe Biden sex accuser Tara Reade 'stole from a non-profit' after backlash
- Reade called the actress out directly, telling her the post which linked to a controversial blog post by Brian & Eddie Krassenstein, was 'slander and untrue'
- Others rushed to accuse Messing of 'shaming survivors' after Reade spoke out
- 'Gee, I wonder why a woman might be reluctant to come forward', one said
- Messing's tweet read: 'Biden Accuser, Tara Reade, Allegedly Stole from Non-Profit Organization'; it shared a link to the Medium blog post
- Messing appears to have deleted the tweet as of Sunday but she has continued to share tweets in support of Biden throughout the day
- In March, Tara Reade came forward to allege that the former Vice President had sexually assaulted her when she worked for him two decades ago aged 29
- Biden finally broke his silence about the allegation to deny it on Friday
Will & Grace star Debra Messing has been forced to delete a tweet suggesting Joe Biden accuser Tara Reade 'stole from a non-profit'.
Former staffer Reade called the actress out directly, telling her the post which linked to a controversial blog post by Brian & Eddie Krassenstein, was 'slander and untrue'.
Others rushed to Reade's defense in the wake of Messing's tweet, with one accusing her of 'shaming survivors'.
In March, Tara Reade came forward to allege that the former Vice President had sexually assaulted her when she worked for him two decades ago aged 29. Biden finally broke his silence about the allegation to deny it on Friday.
There are now at least four people who have corroborated Reade's allegations.
Critics in both parties are saying that Democrats and the media have brushed off the standard of 'believe all women' that they set in the hearings on sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Biden accuser Tara Reade, right, called Debra Messing, left, out directly, telling her the post which linked to a controversial blog post, was 'slander and untrue'
Messing's tweet read: 'Biden Accuser, Tara Reade, Allegedly Stole from Non-Profit Organization'. It shared the Medium blog post. The post sparked a furious backlash
Former staffer Reade's tweet to Messing. The actress appears to have deleted the tweet as of Sunday. She has continued to share tweets in support of Biden
Messing's tweet read: 'Biden Accuser, Tara Reade, Allegedly Stole from Non-Profit Organization'. It shared the Medium blog post.
The post sparked a furious backlash. Journalist Katie Halper wrote: 'This has been debunked and you're quoting people who have been permanently banned from Twitter.'
Joe Biden finally broke his silence about the allegation to deny it on Friday
Glenn Greenwald, also a journalist, added: 'Gee, I wonder why a woman might be reluctant to come forward with allegations against a powerful male Democratic politician.'
One Twitter user said: 'This is disgusting to post. Tara is a human being and deserves to break her silence without being dragged through the mud and lied on.'
Messing appears to have deleted the tweet as of Sunday. She has continued to share tweets in support of Biden.
Calling out the perceived hypocrisy in standards, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said: 'It has been appalling the hypocrisy as to how Brett Kavanaugh was treated versus Joe Biden.
'Brett Kavanaugh -- every accuser was put on TV, it was wall-to-wall coverage, they went into his high school yearbook, they said they needed an FBI investigation.'
'It went from 'me too,' 'me too,' 'me too,' to 'move on,' 'move on,' 'move on' in a nanosecond because he's a Democrat and hypocrisy is appalling.'
One Democratic strategist who requested anonymity told The Hill: 'We set up a standard we can't live by. No one likes to discuss it but it's the reality.
'It looks terrible for him and for the party. You can't say you believe women and then take it all back because it doesn't apply to you.'
Anita Hill, long critical of how Biden handled her accusations against Justice Clarence Thomas, issued a statement highlighting the complexities across the political spectrum.
Noting Reade, Kavanaugh's accuser Christine Blasey Ford, and Trump's many accusers, Hill called for an investigation of 'outstanding claims of sexual misconduct' against Trump and Biden, warning that otherwise 'the public is left to figure out the truth on its own.'
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The post sparked a furious backlash. Journalist Katie Halper wrote: 'This has been debunked and you're quoting people who have been permanently banned from twitter'
On Saturday, the New York Times joined the growing calls for a formal investigation of Reade's allegations.
'As is so often the case in such situations, it is all but impossible to be certain of the truth. But the stakes are too high to let the matter fester — or leave it to be investigated by and adjudicated in the media. Mr. Biden is seeking the nation's highest office,' a column by the Times' Editorial Board said.
Reade has also slammed Democrats for 'hypocrisy' as she revealed the intense online abuse she has received since making the accusation.
She hit out in an interview with Fox News on Saturday night as she said that 'creepy' voice messages were being left for her as part of a torrent of abuse following her claim against the presumed Democratic presidential candidate.
'I find it astounding - the hypocrisy that Democrats are talking about women being able to tell their story safely,' Reade told Fox.
'I'm a Democrat, a lifelong Democrat, but yet here I am trying to talk about my history with Joe Biden and I'm just the target of online harassment.'
She also said the treatment of Anita Hill acted as a deterrent in her coming forward with her allegations.
Reade posted an image on social media of what she looked like in 1993, the year she alleged Biden sexually assaulted her. She has detailed how she did not specifically use the words sexual harassment or assault in her initial report about Biden to the Senate in 1993
Hill accused then-Supreme Court-nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment when Biden led the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Reade told Fox News: 'I really believed Anita Hill and I thought she was treated badly. I think a lot of women felt the same way. They were watching that, that were professionals, you know, I was a young professional at the time.'
'And I didn't like the way Joe Biden dealt with her, but I also didn't like how she was dealt with in general, right? And what it did was that it made us more silent.
'What it did was show us was, 'Okay when you try to go up against this, this is basically what you're gonna face. So it was an example of... a deterrent.'
