James Franco in latest Hollywood scandal

James Franco’s Globe win is overshadowed by misconduct claims

AS JAMES FRANCO TOOK TO THE STAGE to accept the Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a musical or comedy on Jan. 7, The Breakfast Club actress Ally Sheedy took to Twitter, questioning why the actor was “allowed in.” Her tweets, including “James Franco just won. Please never ask me why I left the film/tv business” were later deleted, but Franco’s presence on the stage— dressed in black and wearing a Time’s Up pin in support of women in Hollywood—sparked further social-media reaction. “Hey James Franco, nice #timesup pin … 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!” wrote Sarah Tither-kaplan, an actress who studied at Franco’s film school. Four days later, Tither-kaplan told the Los Angeles Times that in a nude orgy scene filmed with other women selected by Franco, the actor removed the clear plastic guard covering their genitalia and continued to simulate oral sex. “I feel there was an abuse of power and there was a culture of exploiting non-celebrity women,” she said.

Franco, 39, said the comments were “not accurate,” but added that he supported people “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. If I have done something wrong, I will fix it—i have to.”

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“In my life, I pride myself on taking responsibility for things that I’ve done,” Franco (at the Golden Globes on Jan. 7) said on Jan. 9. “I have to do that to maintain my wellbeing. I do it whenever I know that there is something wrong or needs to be...

“I got it in my head pretty quickly, that OK, you don’t say ‘no’ to this guy,” Sarah Tither-kaplan, a student at Franco’s film school said.