E! red carpet correspondent Giuliana Rancic asked the actress about the sexual misconduct allegations against her brother-in-law, James Franco (she's married to his brother, Dave Franco).
When asked how she and her family have been affected by the allegations, Brie responded, "I think that above all, what we've always said, it remains vital that anyone that feels victimized should and does have the right to speak out and come forward."
She continued, "I obviously support my family, and not everything that's been reported is fully accurate, so 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."
Watch a clip of the red carpet conversation below.
At the 2018 #SAGAwards, Alison Brie addressed the allegations of sexual misconduct made against her brother-in-law, James Franco: "It remains vital that anyone that feels victimized should and does have the right to speak out and come forward." pic.twitter.com/dG5uJJVko7
— E! News (@enews) January 21, 2018
Reaction to her comments has been mixed, with some (including one of Franco's accusers) accusing Brie of defending an alleged sexual predator, while others have pointed out that Franco is the one who should have to answer for his behaviour. See some of the reactions to Brie's answer below.
hey @alisonbrie, just wondering how you could comment on the accuracy of events you weren't involved with
— Violet Paley (@VioletPaley) January 22, 2018
A shame to see @GiulianaRancic try to redeem herself tonight by asking @alisonbrie about her brother in law instead of about the work she's being honored for. Women are defined by our own work and choices, not by the men in our life. Alison is not on trial. 🤨
— Polexia (@polexiastardust) January 21, 2018
Cannot believe I just watched Giuliana ask Alison Brie about accusations related to her brother-in-law, James Franco, on a night where she's celebrating her work. Bravo to Alison for handling it with grace and maintaining that now is the time to listen to women. #ERedCarpet
— Hannah (@hmarie12) January 21, 2018
She should not be expected to answer questions about anything other than HER work. @alisonbrie is not at the SAG awards to get sidelined into being a spokesperson for
— Amanda de Cadenet📎 (@amandadecadenet) January 22, 2018
"being related to an alleged abuser." This questions is as offensive as " what are you wearing?"#AskHerMore https://t.co/OnrHDaMXMb
Right about now Alison Brie is wishing she could talk about her dress. #SAGAwards
— Laurie Brookins (@StyleWriterNYC) January 21, 2018
For a second there I thought Giuliana was gonna follow up her Alison Brie question by grilling Timothée Chalamet on Woody Allen but lol what was I thinking
— Jenna Guillaume (@JennaGuillaume) January 22, 2018
She also said "Above all, what we've always said is that it remains vital that anyone who feels victimized should and does have the right to speak out and come forward." But you couldn't put that in the headline I guess.
— allison (@AlliApplebum) January 21, 2018
Alison Brie was so well prepared for E!'s James Franco question. It's almost like they had a family meeting about how horrible this red carpet was gonna be for them and she volunteered as tribute.
— Rebecca Keegan (@ThatRebecca) January 21, 2018
.@alisonbrie was so poised handling the tricky questions about her brother-in-law James Franco and her solidarity with #TimesUp
— Caitlyn Becker (@caitlynbecker) January 21, 2018
did anyone ask Dave Franco about his brother's sexual assault allegations or are we going to leave all the hard work to Alison Brie?
— Rawan (@rawan) January 22, 2018