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.
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.
— Violet Paley (@VioletPaley) January 9, 2018
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.
