James Franco Claims Rumors About Him Are 'Not Accurate,' But Offers to 'Fix' Whatever He's Done Wrong

By Bobby Finger  |  January 10, 2018 | 2:35pm
CelebritiesDirt Bag

While appearing on Tuesday’s episode of The Late Show, a very exhausted-seeming James Franco was asked by host Stephen Colbert about the many rumors and rumblings regarding his alleged treatment of women that began bubbling up to the surface of our Twitter feeds after his big Golden Globes win Sunday night.

There were tweets by women calling out how “rich” it was to see him wearing a “Time’s Up” pin. There were tweets by women (like Ally Sheedy) saying #MeToo and “James Franco” in the same sentence. And then there were tweets that straight up accused him of assault, like this one:

Franco claims he has not “read” these tweets, but that he has “heard about them.” Regarding Sheedy’s now-deleted “#MeToo” comments, he said he has “no idea” what they’re about, adding:

“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. She took the tweet down. I don’t know. I can’t speak for her. I don’t know.”

As for the others, well, Franco does a bit of an artful dodge (bold mine):

“The others? Look, in my life I pride myself on taking responsibility for things that I’ve done. I have to do that to maintain my wellbeing. I do it whenever I know that there’s something wrong or needs to be changed…The things that I heard that were on Twitter are not accurate, but I completely support people coming out…because they didn’t have a voice for so long. I don’t want to shut them down in anyway. It’s, I think, a good thing and I support it.”

That bolded line gets a little more interesting when you see this tweet:

Colbert then asked Franco if there was a way to reconcile things. “It’s a big question,” he said. “I don’t know how to further this discussion.”

Said Franco:

“I can’t live if there’s restitution to be made. 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. As far as the bigger issues, how we do it? Look. I really don’t have the answers. I think the point of this whole thing is that we listen. There were incredible people talking that night. They had a lot to say. I’m here to listen and learn and change my perspective where it’s off. I’m completely willing and want to.”

[Just Jared]

Speaking of men accused of behaving badly, Greta Gerwig has finally spoken at length about her decision to work with Woody Allen in 2012’s To Rome With Love. In an interview with the Times, she said:

I would like to speak specifically to the Woody Allen question, which I have been asked about a couple of times recently, as I worked for him on a film that came out in 2012. It is something that I take very seriously and have been thinking deeply about, and it has taken me time to gather my thoughts and say what I mean to say. I can only speak for myself and what I’ve come to is this: If I had known then what I know now, I would not have acted in the film. I have not worked for him again, and I will not work for him again. Dylan Farrow’s two different pieces made me realize that I increased another woman’s pain, and I was heartbroken by that realization. I grew up on his movies, and they have informed me as an artist, and I cannot change that fact now, but I can make different decisions moving forward.

Dylan Farrow approves.

[NYT]