Golden Globe Winner James Franco’s TimesTalk event was cancelled by The New York Times in the wake of numerous women coming forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct after his Golden Globe win for his turn as eccentric filmmaker Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist.
After Franco’s big win, The Breakfast Club star Ally Sheedy took to Twitter to say, “James Franco just won. Please never ever ask me why I left the film/TV business.”
Sheedy worked with the actor, who wore a Times Up pin during the Globes ceremony, in the 2014 off-Broadway production of The Long Shrift.
Apparently bouyed by Sheedy’s disclosure, other actors followed suit and revealed their unpleasant experiences.
Paley went on to say that Frank had offered her an ‘overdue’, ‘annoyed’ and ‘convenient’ apology.
“Maybe some other people’s lives would be made easier if he donated all of his earnings from The Disaster Artist to RAINN (anti-sexual violence organisation).”Violet Paley
Filmmaker and actor Sarah Tither Kaplan also took to Twitter with her allegations against Franco.
The black and white Times Up Pin, designed by Reese Witherspoon and costume designer, Arianne Phillips, was seen on the lapels and collars of stars like Justin Timberlake, Daniel Kaluuya, Ewan McGregor, Michelle Pfeiffer at the Golden Globes 2018 event.
An anti-harassment initiative, by a group of female agents in Hollywood, Times Up is dedicated to confronting abuse of power and promoting workplace equality and has about 300 members.
“The event was intended to be a discussion of the making of the film, The Disaster Artist. Given the controversy surrounding recent allegations, we’re no longer comfortable proceeding in that vein.”The New York Times said in a statement.
Franco also appeared on The Late Show after he bagged the Golden Globe where Stephen Colbert asked Franco about the allegations.
I do want to ask you something, and I know I mentioned backstage that I wanted to talk to you about this, and if you’re OK talking about it, I wanted to ask you about some criticism you got on Golden Globes night. Because you were wearing a ‘Time’s Up’ pin in support of the Time’s Up movement, which has been created by many powerful women in Hollywood to say that time is up for the abuse, misuse of women—both sexually and otherwise—not only in Hollywood,but around the country. They’ve established a legal defense fund for women and men who are being abused in this way. You got criticized for wearing that. Doyou know why? And do you have a response, or anything you want to say about that criticism?”Host, Stephen Colbert
Franco was hesitant about addressing the allegations. He explained that he wore the pin since he supports change and that he supports 50/50 in 2020.
“There were some things on Twitter, um, I haven’t read them. I’ve heard about them. OK, first of all, I have no idea what I did to Ally Sheedy. I directed her in a play off-Broadway. I had nothing but a great time with her, total respect for her. I have no idea why she was upset. She took the tweet down. I don’t know. I can’t speak for her… I don’t know. The others, look, in my life I pride myself on taking responsibility for things I’ve done. I have to do that to maintain my well-being. I do it whenever I know that there’s something wrong that 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 shut them down in any way. I think it’s a good thing.”Actor, James Franco.
After Colbert persisted with his probing, Franco offered evasive replies and finally admitted - “So if I’ve done something wrong, I will fix it.”
Source: Variety and The Daily Beast.
(Breathe In, Breathe Out: Are you finding it tough to breathe polluted air? Join hands with FIT in partnership with #MyRightToBreathe to find a solution to pollution. Send in your suggestions to fit@thequint.com or WhatsApp @ +919999008335)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)