Founder of the Me Too movement Tarana Burke is facing criticism online for her comments about the sexual assault allegations embroiling the candidacy of Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden.

Biden and his supporters have faced questions about his conduct since Tara Reade, a former staffer in his Senate office, came forward in March with allegations of sexual assault.

In an interview with The New York Times earlier this month, Reade said she was working as a staff assistant in 1993 when Biden forced himself on her, penetrating her with his fingers after pinning her against a wall.

Reade initially came forward as one of the women who said Biden touched her inappropriately during her time working in his office, but she unveiled the sexual assault allegation during another interview in March.

Katie Halper · Tara Reade, Joe Biden's accuser, finally tells her full story (excerpt)

“It happened at once. He’s talking to me and his hands are everywhere and everything is happening very quickly. He was kissing me and he said, very low, ‘Do you want to go somewhere else?’” she recounted, adding that when she pushed him away, he said, "Come on, man, I heard you liked me.”

Biden has denied the allegations, but reporters with The Times corroborated Reade's claims with other people she told about the incident, including lawyers she spoke with, her brother and two friends. Reporters have not found any other accusations of sexual assault against Biden, and people who worked with Reade in the office at the time were not aware of the incident, including two interns who Reade managed.

As a way to defend herself against allegations that she was lying, Reade filed a police report with officers in Washington D.C. earlier this month, knowing that filing false reports is a crime, The Times reported.

Reade said she filed a Senate complaint but it has not been found, and she told The Times she does not have a copy of it. She said she complained to other senior staff members at the time but was ignored and stripped of her duties.

The allegations have forced supporters of Biden to address the situation, and in a 14-tweet thread on Tuesday Burke, a longtime women's rights activist and celebrated advocate for sexual assault survivors, tried to parse through her feelings about the situation.

My stance has never wavered: survivors have a right to speak their truth and to be given the space to heal.
2/14

— Tarana (@TaranaBurke) April 28, 2020

“The inconvenient truth is that this story is impacting us differently because it hits at the heart of one of the most important elections of our lifetime. And I hate to disappoint you but I don’t really have easy answers. There are no perfect survivors. And no one, especially a presidential candidate, is beyond reproach. So where does that leave us?” Burke wrote.

“In a just world, we’d have a transformative approach to dealing with claims of sexual violence where a survivor’s story is given fair consideration and they are made whole by a process that supports both accountability and healing. This is doubly important when outsized power dynamics are involved. But, we don’t have that right now,” she added.

Burke goes on to criticize the frenzy around the allegations and those on both sides of the issue using it as a political weapon to push whatever agenda they have. She criticized those who are "interested in this story because you are entertained by the trauma of others or because it has the potential to be politically expedient — with no real regard for the survivor."

Reade, she added, has been given the chance to speak about what happened to her through mainstream media reporting, but Burke lamented the fact that journalists were one of the only avenues available for sexual assault survivors.

She also took time to criticize Biden for attempting to lean on the fact that he's a "good guy" and "our only hope" as a defense against the allegations. Burke noted that Biden needs to take time "acknowledging that his demonstrated learning curve around boundaries with women, at the very least, left him open to the plausibility of these claims."

Burke ended the lengthy thread by reminding her followers that there is no guidebook for situations like this and that "a culture of acknowledging harm can’t exist if we continue to view sexual violence as a catastrophic outlier rather than an embedded toxic element of our culture."

Debate about Burke's response raged online.

Biden should step down.

People wouldn't be making these nuanced and anguished takes if he wasn't the Democratic nominee.

We should always do the right thing no matter the circumstances.

Just replace him w another nominee. It's not hard.

— Carole Baskin Robbins (@Jamie_Maz) April 28, 2020

Tarana Burke is wishy washy on Biden sex assault. Stacey Abrams said Tara Reade is a liar. James Clyburn says Biden doesn’t have to choose a black woman as his running mate.
This is a bad day for blue check colored people.

— Margaret Kimberley (@freedomrideblog) April 30, 2020

Wisdom, thy name is @TaranaBurke. https://t.co/MXKUtPqN68

— brittany packnett cunningham does not do remixes. (@MsPackyetti) April 28, 2020

I feel like if you care about sexual assault, you probably shouldn't bully Tarana Burke on the internet.

— Mangy Jay (@magi_jay) April 29, 2020

My family and I completely agree. We are straight ticket Dems. These accusations need to be acknowledged and spoken to frankly and honestly. If he did it, admit it. Then we go from there.

— Amy Kosari (@AmyKosari) April 28, 2020

@TaranaBurke Your insight is intelligent & inspiring. All survivors have a right to tell their story but news media/twitter are not the only avenues that shld be available. As a media person, I have yet to address this story fearing my words will be politicized/sensationalized.

— RoxanneJones (@iamroxannejones) April 28, 2020

Listen to women who have engaged in this activism for decades when they tell you there is a tightrope here that you don’t see. Listen to advocates, many of whom are victims, who are working toward something larger than just nuking careers and being hated more for it every time.

— feminist next door (@emrazz) April 29, 2020

While many were furious at Burke for trying to weigh both sides of the issue, others tried to understand her perspective as a survivor herself. Some criticized Burke, noting that she was giving Biden more leeway than she offered other major figures accused of sexual assault like Harvey Weinstein and Brett Kavanaugh.

According to The Times, women’s rights advocates are pushing Biden and his campaign to address the allegations before the end of April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

“Vice President Biden has the opportunity, right now, to model how to take serious allegations seriously. The weight of our expectations matches the magnitude of the office he seeks,” activists wrote in a draft letter shared with The Times.

Tara Reade

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