James Franco responded to allegations of his sexual misconduct
“The things that I heard went on Twitter are not accurate.”
Shortly after actor and director James Franco won an award at Sunday night's Golden Globes, a series of accusations of sexual misconduct were made against him online. They included actress Ally Sheedy, with whom Franco worked in 2014, who suggested on Twitter that Franco had something to do with her leaving the film business.
Sheedy later deleted her tweets but other women followed in her footsteps, including actress Violet Paley who alleged Franco once pushed her head down toward his exposed penis in a car. Another actress, Sarah Tither-Kaplan, accused Franco of pressuring her to do a fully nude scene in a movie. “I one hundred percent did not feel like I had a choice to say no,” she tweeted.
On Tuesday night, January 9, Franco appeared on The Late Show where host Stephen Colbert pressed Franco on the accusations and gave him the chance to respond. Franco said he had been informed of the tweets, but had not seen them for himself.
“The things that I heard that went 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," Franco said. "I don’t want to shut them down in any way. I think it’s a good thing and I support it.”
Asked about Sheedy, who he directed in an off-Broadway production of The Long Shrift four years ago, Franco added: “I have no idea what I did to Ally Sheedy. I have no idea why she was upset. I can’t speak for her. I don’t know.” You can see the full interview above.
Since the allegations against Franco were made, he has had a scheduled appearance at a New York Times event canceled by the publication. “Given the controversy surrounding recent allegations, we’re no longer comfortable proceeding in that vein,” the publishers wrote in a statement.
Thumbnail image courtesy of Frederick M. Brown/Getty.