HBO “Felt Comfortable” Proceeding With James Franco On ‘The Deuce’ After #MeToo Accusations

In January, after receiving a Golden Globe for Best Actor, we reported that Twitter lit up with allegations of sexual misconduct against James Franco.  The actor was accused by five women of stepping over boundaries of acceptable behavior, in situations where there was a clearly imbalanced power dynamic at play.

The actor, who currently stars in HBO’s “The Deuce” stated that the accusations made against him were not accurate. “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. The things that I heard 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,” he told Colbert. “So I don’t want to shut them down in any way. I think it’s a good thing and I support it.”

However, there was an internal investigation done at HBO to decide whether or not the actor would return to “The Deuce.” According to The Wrap after consulting with the cast, crew, and programming director the television powerhouse had decided to move forward with the second season of the beloved show and keep Franco on the payroll.

HBO Programming Director Casey Bloys stated, “When the Franco issue came up, we talked internally. We read the LA Times article. We talked to the executive producers, to Maggie [Gyllenhaal], the actors and actresses on the set. We all felt comfortable moving forward with the second season.”

Bloys was quick to note that the network doesn’t take decisions like this lightly, pointing out the decision to cut ties with Russell Simmons and Mark Halperin. He said the network did not see fit to end it’s relationship with Franco after reviewing the accusations made against him.

It is interesting though, in the current state of the #MeToo movement, with powerful Hollywood figures losing their jobs, to see Franco stay. However, we are glad to see that HBO has reviewed the claims and is taking everything on a case by case basis.