James Franco said that recent allegations of sexual misconduct leveled against him are “not accurate.”
“I haven’t read [the accusations.] I’ve heard about them,” Franco said Tuesday night during an appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” “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.”
Multiple women, including actress Violet Paley, accused Franco of sexual misconduct after he on Sunday won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture/Comedy for his role in “The Disaster Artist.” The actor was also criticized for wearing a “Time’s Up” pin in support of an initiative against gender discrimination despite the allegations.
On Colbert’s show, Franco did not respond to Paley’s tweet specifically but did respond to comments from “The Breakfast Club” star Ally Sheedy. Soon after Franco accepted his Golden Globe, Sheedy tweeted, “James Franco just won. Please never ever ask me why I left the film/tv business.” She deleted the tweets soon after, along with one calling out actor Christian Slater with the hashtag #metoo.
“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, total respect for her. I have no idea why she was upset.”
The actor went on to say that he prides himself on taking responsibility for his actions.
Earlier on Tuesday, the New York Times canceled an event it had scheduled with Franco over the claims against Franco.
In a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, a spokesperson for the Times said, “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.”
Watch Franco’s full response in the video above.