James Franco was riding high on Sunday night, scoring a Golden Globe for his acclaimed turn in "The Disaster Artist," a behind-the-scenes comedy he also directed. It was a career peak for Franco, who took to the stage at the Beverly Hilton wearing a pin honoring the fight against sexual misconduct.
But not everyone was celebrating.
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Ally Sheedy, co-star of "The Breakfast Club," fired off a series of cryptic tweets that evening — since deleted — in which she appeared to take aim at Franco, who stars in "The Disaster Artist" as eccentric cult-movie hero Tommy Wiseau.
"James Franco just won," Sheedy tweeted, per screenshots taken by several media outlets. "Please never ever ask me why I left the film/tv business." (Franco directed Sheedy in a 2014 off-Broadway production of "The Long Shrift.")
Related: The deafening silence on harassment among men at the Golden Globes
It was not clear exactly what Sheedy meant in her posts. But they nonetheless went viral, inspiring days of social media chatter and reviving rumors of alleged sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior.
Amid the furor, The New York Times canceled an event at which Franco and his younger brother, Dave, were slated to promote "The Disaster Artist." And the accusations could jeopardize the elder Franco's path to an Oscar nomination. (He was previously nominated for his performance in "127 Hours.")
Hey James Franco, nice #timesup pin at the #GoldenGlobes , remember a few weeks ago when you told me the full nudity you had me do in two of your movies for $100/day wasn't exploitative because I signed a contract to do it? Times up on that! — Sarah Tither-Kaplan🌈 (@sarahtk) January 8, 2018
Cute #TIMESUP pin James Franco. Remember the time you pushed my head down in a car towards your exposed penis & that other time you told my friend to come to your hotel when she was 17? After you had already been caught doing that to a different 17 year old? — Violet Paley (@VioletPaley) January 8, 2018
Sarah Tither-Kaplan, a filmmaker and actress, claimed in a tweet that Franco told her the "full nudity" he purportedly asked her to do for two of his movies was not exploitative because she had signed a contract.
Violet Paley, another actress, alleged in a tweet that Franco once pushed her head toward his "exposed penis." In a subsequent tweet, Paley claimed Franco offered her and "a few other girls" an apology — which Paley said she does not accept.
Franco, 39, denied accusations of sexual impropriety in an awkward appearance Tuesday evening on "The Late Show" on CBS.
Related: James Franco awkwardly addresses claims on Colbert’s ‘Late Show’
"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," Franco told host Stephen Colbert.
James Franco accepting a Golden Globe "The Disaster Artist" on Jan. 7, 2018. Paul Drinkwater / NBC via Reuters
The renewed scrutiny on Franco after the Globes comes four years after he apparently sent a series of text messages, posted on the image-sharing website Imgur, in which he seemed to try to seduce a 17-year-old Scottish girl he had recently met outside a Broadway theater in New York.
In an April 2014 appearance on "Live! With Kelly and Michael," Franco acknowledged the text message exchange:
"I'm embarrassed, and I guess I'm just a model of how social media is tricky," he said at the time. "It's a way people meet each other today, but what I've learned — I guess because I'm new to it — is you don't know who's on the other end. I used bad judgement, and I learned my lesson."
Later that month, in a radio interview with Howard Stern, Franco again addressed the episode, noting that the age of consent in New York is 17.
"They make it out like I'm pursuing young women," Franco told Stern. "I'm not going to high schools looking for dates."
In the same interview, Stern said some people thought the incident was "promotion" for "Palo Alto," a 2014 independent film in which Franco plays a high school soccer teacher who has sex with a student, played by Emma Roberts. (The film was adapted from a short story collection written by Franco.)
In his interview with Colbert on Tuesday night, Franco vowed to make amends for his alleged conduct. "If there's restitution to be made, I will make it," Franco said. "I'm here to listen and learn and change my perspective where it's off."
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Colbert Presses Franco — to a Point
At the end of a good-natured interview on “The Late Show” on Tuesday, Stephen Colbert asked James Franco to address the elephant in the room: allegations of sexual improprieties that had surfaced since Sunday.
During Mr. Franco’s appearance at the Golden Globes, where he won for his lead role in “The Disaster Artist,” multiple women suggested on social media that he should not have been wearing a “Time’s Up” pin in solidarity with victims of gender inequality. The actress Ally Sheedy tweeted that he was an example of “why I left the film/tv business,” though she later removed the message.
When Mr. Colbert asked for a response, Mr. Franco focused on the broader movement for gender equality, then denied any suggestion that he had acted improperly.
“First of all, I have no idea what I did to Ally Sheedy,” he said. “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.”
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He added, “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.”
Actor says claims made against him by two women are ‘not accurate’ after being quizzed by Late Show host
James Franco has described sexual misconduct allegations made against him as “not accurate”, when quizzed on the subject on Tuesday’s episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
The actor, who on Monday received a Golden Globe for his performance in comedy biopic The Disaster Artist, responded to claims made by two women on Twitter in the wake of his victory. Actor-director Sarah Tither-Kaplan alleges that Franco exploited her by asking her to perform nude in two of his films for $100 per day, while actor Violet Paley alleges that Franco tried to force her to perform oral sex on him while in a car.
In a later tweet Paley claimed that Franco had apologised to her and several other women over the phone several weeks before the allegations came to light.
Violet Paley (@VioletPaley) A couple weeks ago, James offered me & a few other girls an overdue, annoyed, convenient phone “apology”. I don’t accept, but maybe some other people’s lives would be made easier if he donated all of his earnings from “The Disaster Artist” to @RAINN01.
Colbert addressed the claims during Tuesday’s episode of The Late Show, noting that Franco had received criticism online for wearing a badge supporting the Time’s Up movement and asking whether he wanted to respond to allegations made against him.
“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,” Franco told Colbert, adding that he didn’t “want to, you know, shut them down in any way. It’s, I think, a good thing and I support it.”
“The way I live my life, I can’t live if there’s restitution to be made. I will make it. So if I’ve done something wrong, I will fix it. I have to. I mean, I think that’s how that works. I don’t know what else to do,” he added.
In the interview with Colbert, Franco also addressed a series of tweets by Breakfast Club star Ally Sheedy, who he had directed in 2014 in the off-Broadway play The Long Shrift. “James Franco just won. Please never ever ask me why I left the film/tv business,” Sheedy wrote, later adding a second tweet which read: “Why is a man hosting? Why is James Franco allowed in? Said too much. Nite love ya #goldenglobes.” Sheedy has since deleted the tweets. However, screenshots have been widely circulated online.
“I have no idea what I did to Ally Sheedy,” Franco said. “I directed her in a play off-Broadway. I had nothing but a great time with her and I have total respect for her. I have no idea why she was upset.”
Earlier on Tuesday the New York Times cancelled an event scheduled for Wednesday with Franco and his brother Dave in the wake of the allegations. “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 Times said in a statement.
The Guardian has contacted a representative for Sheedy for clarification on the comments made against Franco.
James Franco addressed sexual misconduct allegations Jan. 9 on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," after winning best actor in a comedy at the Golden Globes. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)
What started as a lighthearted interview between Stephen Colbert and James Franco turned serious on CBS’s “The Late Show” on Tuesday night, as the actor denied accusations of misconduct that surfaced this week on social media.
After Franco appeared Sunday night at the Golden Globe Awards, where he won best actor in a comedy for his role in “The Disaster Artist,” actress Ally Sheedy posted a series of tweets.
“James Franco just won. Please never ever ask me why I left the film/tv business,” she wrote. (In 2014, Franco directed Sheedy in the off-Broadway play “The Long Shrift.”) Sheedy also tweeted, “Why is a man hosting? Why is James Franco allowed in? Said too much. Nite love ya #goldenglobes.”
[Debra Messing, Meryl Streep and others on Golden Globes red carpet talk sexual misconduct]
Sheedy deleted the tweets, but the screenshots made the rounds online. Later that night, another actress sent a tweet that accused Franco of sexual misconduct. She added “Cute #TIMESUP pin James Franco,” in reference to the pins worn by many actors that evening to support the new “Time’s Up” initiative, a legal fund to fight sexual harassment and workplace inequality. Another actress’s tweet directed at Franco said, “Remember a few weeks ago when you told me the full nudity you had me do in two of your movies for $100/day wasn’t exploitative because I signed a contract to do it?”
Actor James Franco discusses the "Time's Up" movement backstage at Golden Globe Awards. The actor has been accused of sexual misconduct by several actresses. (AP)
Fast forward to Franco’s appearance on Colbert’s show, where the two chatted about his portrayal of filmmaker Tommy Wiseau in “The Disaster Artist” and welcomed Franco’s younger brother, actor Dave Franco, on stage for a cameo. Then, as is now becoming a semiregular practice as harassment allegations pour out of Hollywood, the tone of the comedy show changed.
“I mentioned backstage I wanted to talk to you about this, and if you’re okay talking about it, I wanted to ask you about some criticism you got on Golden Globes night,” Colbert started. “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 the time is up for the abuse, misuse of women both sexually and otherwise, not only in Hollywood but around the country. … You got criticized for wearing that. Do you know why? And do you have a response, do you have anything you want to say about that criticism?”
“First, I want to say I wore it because I do support it. I was so excited to win, but being in that room that night was incredible. I mean, it was powerful. There were incredible voices, and I support it. I support change,” Franco said. He noted the fund’s “50-50 by 2020” goal, which means equality for “people that are underrepresented, women, and people of color, people in the LGBT community” by the year 2020.
After some applause from the audience, Franco segued.
“There were some things on Twitter … I haven’t read them. I’ve heard about them,” he said. “Okay, 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,” Franco continued. “In my life 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 — I don’t want to, you know, shut them down in any way.”
[The brewing James Franco controversy over sexual misconduct allegations, explained]
Colbert asked Franco if there was a way to have this discussion in a format that isn’t social media. “Do you have any idea of what the answer might be to come to some sense of what the truth is so there can be some sort of reconciliation between people who clearly have different views of things?” he asked. “I mean, it’s a big question, but I don’t know how to leave, or to further this discussion.”
Franco paused. “I mean, like I said — the way I live my life, I can’t live if there’s restitution to be made. I will make it. So if I’ve done something wrong, I will fix it. I have to. I mean, I think that’s how that works. I don’t know what else to do,” he said. “I mean, as far as the bigger issues, you know, how we do it. Look, I really don’t have the answers. And I think the point of this whole thing is that we listen. You know, there were incredible people talking that night. They had a lot to say. And I’m here to listen and learn and change my perspective where it’s off, and I’m completely willing and want to.”
On Wednesday night, Franco is scheduled to be a guest on NBC’s “Late Night With Seth Meyers” as he makes the New York press rounds. He was supposed to appear at a New York Times “TimesTalk” event with his brother on Wednesday afternoon, but late Tuesday the event was canceled.
The Times released a statement: “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.”
Read more:
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They came to disrupt the red carpet ritual. But did celebrities at the Golden Globes actually make a difference?
Golden Globes: Men had little to say about harassment, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed
