James Franco responded to a series of sexual misconduct allegations during his appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night (January 9).
Franco started by defending his decision to wear a Time's Up pin at the Golden Globes on Sunday night (January 7). Then, the late-night host asked Franco to address the recent claims of sexual misconduct, and he admitted that he'd heard about allegations made on Twitter, but he hadn't read them.
"The things that I've heard about on Twitter are not accurate," Franco said. "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. I think it's a good thing and I support it."
Despite denying the claims, the New York Times has cancelled a public event with Franco that was set to take place today. The Times said in a statement that "given the controversy surrounding recent allegations" it was cancelling the event.
Following his Golden Globe win for his performance in The Disaster Artist, a number of women took to Twitter alleging sexual misconduct by Franco.
Actress Violet Paley claimed that he pushed her head down toward his exposed penis while they were in a car together, then further alleged that on a separate occasion he lured her 17-year-old friend to a hotel room.
Sarah Tither-Kaplan alleged that Franco enlisted her to do full nudity in two of his films for $100 a day, telling her it "wasn't exploitative."
In a series of tweets that have since been deleted, Ally Sheedy (who starred in the Franco-directed play The Long Shrift in 2014) criticized the Golden Globe winner, saying: "James Franco just won. Please never ever ask me why I left the film/tv business."
She later tweeted: "Why is a man hosting? Why is James Franco allowed in? Said too much."
Specifically addressing Sheedy's accusations, Franco told Colbert: "I have no idea what I did to Ally Sheedy… 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 can't speak for her."
He 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's something wrong or needs to be changed. I make it a point to do it."
Watch the interview clip with Franco below.
Franco started by defending his decision to wear a Time's Up pin at the Golden Globes on Sunday night (January 7). Then, the late-night host asked Franco to address the recent claims of sexual misconduct, and he admitted that he'd heard about allegations made on Twitter, but he hadn't read them.
"The things that I've heard about on Twitter are not accurate," Franco said. "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. I think it's a good thing and I support it."
Despite denying the claims, the New York Times has cancelled a public event with Franco that was set to take place today. The Times said in a statement that "given the controversy surrounding recent allegations" it was cancelling the event.
Following his Golden Globe win for his performance in The Disaster Artist, a number of women took to Twitter alleging sexual misconduct by Franco.
Actress Violet Paley claimed that he pushed her head down toward his exposed penis while they were in a car together, then further alleged that on a separate occasion he lured her 17-year-old friend to a hotel room.
Sarah Tither-Kaplan alleged that Franco enlisted her to do full nudity in two of his films for $100 a day, telling her it "wasn't exploitative."
In a series of tweets that have since been deleted, Ally Sheedy (who starred in the Franco-directed play The Long Shrift in 2014) criticized the Golden Globe winner, saying: "James Franco just won. Please never ever ask me why I left the film/tv business."
She later tweeted: "Why is a man hosting? Why is James Franco allowed in? Said too much."
Specifically addressing Sheedy's accusations, Franco told Colbert: "I have no idea what I did to Ally Sheedy… 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 can't speak for her."
He 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's something wrong or needs to be changed. I make it a point to do it."
Watch the interview clip with Franco below.