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When James Franco appeared at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards dressed in black, with a Time’s Up organization pin on his suit, Twitter erupted in response to people including actress Ally Sheedy calling the actor out for alleged inappropriate behavior in the past. Franco, who won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his movie The Disaster Artist, ended up skipping the Critics Choice Awards, where he also won. It was reported by Us Weekly that Franco did not attend the event because of the allegations.
Over the weekend, Scarlett Johansson called out Franco at the Women’s March in New York City, saying she wanted her pin back. She also said, “My mind baffles. How could a person publicly stand by an organization that helps to provide support for victims of sexual assault while privately preying on people who have no power?”, according to FOX News. In the past, Johannson has supported director Woody Allen and worked on films of his, so Twitter users brought the heat when she sounded off on Franco. Over the years, Allen has been accused of child abuse and molestation.
On tonight’s red carpet at the 2018 SAG Awards, Franco’s sister-in-law Alison Brie, who is married to Dave Franco, defended him. According to The Hollywood Reporter, E! host Giuliana Rancic said to Brie, “So much of the movement has to do with transparency and, as you know, your family and your brother in law has been in the news recently. What are your thoughts on that and what can you share about how that’s affected you and your family?” In response, Brie said, “I think that above all what we’ve always said is that it remains vital that anyone who feels victimized should and does have the right to speak out and come forward. I obviously support my family and not everything that’s been reported is fully accurate, so I think we’re waiting to get all of the information. But of course I think now is a time for listening and that’s what we’re all trying to do.”
At the 2018 #SAGAwards, Alison Brie addressed the allegations of sexual misconduct made against her brother-in-law, James Franco: “It remains vital that anyone that feels victimized should and does have the right to speak out and come forward.”
Franco’s attorney Michael Plonsker has disputed the claims against him and when Franco appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he said, “I pride myself on taking responsibility for things that I’ve done. I have to do that to maintain my well-being. I do it whenever I know that there is something wrong or needs to be changed, I make it a point to do it … The things that I heard that were on Twitter are not accurate, but I completely support people coming out and being able to have a voice because they didn’t have a voice for so long. So I don’t want to, you know, shut them down in any way. It’s, I think, a good thing and I support it.”
He continued, “Like I said, there are stories that need to get out, people that need to be heard. I have my own side of this story but I believe that these people have been underrepresented getting their stories out enough that I will hold back things that I could say just because I believe in that so much. If I have to take a knock because I’m not gonna, you know, try and, you know, actively refute things then I will because I believe in it that much.” Franco has been cleaning up so far this awards show, with wins for his portrayal of Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist.
