Actress Alyssa Milano Explains Why She Continues To Support Joe Biden & Shares Her Advice On Handling Tara Reade’s Allegations

On Wednesday, Alyssa Milano, actress, and dedicated #MeToo activist penned an op-ed explaining her ongoing support for current presidential candidate Joe Biden despite the sexual assault allegation from his former Senate staffer, Tara Reade, a move that seemingly goes against Milano’s support for sex abuse survivors.

In the Deadline published piece titled “Living in the Gray as a Woman,” Milano wrote that there are many instances of sexual assault that have been obvious such as the cases of Harvey Weinstein and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Milano explained that Kavanaugh’s “actions, told consistently over decades by his victim (and supported by her polygraph results), were clearly wrong.” However, she explained that there are gray areas, which makes jumping to the immediate defense of the victim an uneasy task.

“Except it’s not always so easy, and living in the gray areas is something we’re trying to figure out in the world of social media. But here’s something social media doesn’t afford us– nuance,” Milano wrote. “The world is gray. And as uncomfortable as that makes people, gray is where the real change happens. Black and white is easy. Gray is the place women can come together out of the glare of the election and speak our truths, our doubts, our hopes, our convictions and test them against the light and the dark,” she wrote.

While the 47-year-old does say that the allegations against Biden “concern me, deeply,” she doubles down on her support for Biden, whom she says is someone “who I can’t picture doing any of the things of which he’s accused.”

Surprisingly, Milano even offered Biden a bit of advice in handling the allegations against him, telling the Democratic nominee to face the claims without backing down, no matter if they are true or not.

“I’d advise him to face the allegation head-on, answer every question, and admit any wrongdoing, and to be the example for all men who face these kinds of accusations whether founded or not.”

In the op-ed, Milano also stated that just because a woman comes forward, that does not mean that her account should be automatically ruled as correct.

“Believing women was never about ‘Believe all women no matter what they say,’ it was about changing the culture of NOT believing women by default. It was about ending the patriarchy’s dangerous drive for self-preservation at all costs, victims be damned,” Milano explained.

Reade blasted Milano in an interview with Fox News, accusing the Biden supporter of inappropriately inserting herself into her case.

“I don’t know what her role is. She’s not really a professional helping women. She was basically talking about protecting powerful men the last time she made a statement. It’s just the complete opposite of how she approached Brett Kavanaugh, so it’s kind of weird and strange, and I think she’s just looking for ways to be relevant.”

56-year-old Reade, who filed a criminal complaint in April of this year, worked as a staff assistant to Biden from 1992-93 when he was serving as senator for the U.S. state of Delaware. Reade claims that in 1993 while she was delivering his gym bag, he forced her against a wall and put his hands under her shirt and skirt. She claims he then penetrated her with his fingers before she was able to break free.

“I remember him saying, first, as he was doing it ‘Do you want to go somewhere else?’ and then him saying to me, when I pulled away… he said ‘Come on man, I heard you liked me,'” she claimed.

“There was no exchange, really, he just had me up against the wall,” she told podcast host Katie Halper in March.

Biden’s team has denied the allegations.