‘It remains vital that anyone that feels victimised should and does have the right to speak out and come forward’
The 2018 awards season has become a platform for politics, with hosts, award-winners and attendees using the red carpet and on-stage air-time to call out the mistreatment of women, following a crushing year of sexual harassment and assault revelations.
James Franco has become a point of focus recently, after he found himself facing sexual misconduct allegations hours after picking up a Golden Globe for his role in The Disaster Artist.
The 39-year-old was the subject of a series of allegations, after some found it contradictory that he wore a Time’s Up pin to the Globes, a symbol of solidarity with victims, considering his alleged past behaviour. Even Scarlett Johansson called him out this weekend at the Time’s Up rally, announcing, ‘I want my pin back, by the way’.
After the allegations emerged, James Franco appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to address the claims.
‘I’ve heard about them,’ the actor told the host, emphasising that he prides himself on taking responsibility for his actions. ‘I do it whenever I know that there’s something that’s wrong that needs to be changed. The things that I’ve 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. I don’t want to shut them down in anyway. I think it’s a good thing and I support it.’
Since the allegations have emerged, James has been noticeably absent from awards season - something that has only been made more obvious by the fact that he has been cleaning up the trophies.
While he was present at the SAG awards last night, the actor did not address the allegations mounting against him. Instead, sister-in-law Alison Brie did the talking.
‘What we’ve always said is that it remains vital that anyone who feels victimised should and does have the right to speak out and come forward,’ the GLOW actress explained in an interview with E!’s Giuliana Rancic.
‘I obviously support my family and not everything that’s been reported is fully accurate, so I think we’re waiting to get all the information. But, of course, now is a time for listening and that’s what we’re all trying to do.’
