The sexual misconduct allegations against James Franco that surfaced last month slowed the multi-hyphenate’s momentum. Five women came forward and accused Franco of sexually exploitative behavior, and the actor quickly responded, saying the allegations were “not accurate” during appearances on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and “Late Night With Seth Meyers.”
“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.”
Franco had just written, directed, starred and won a Golden Globe for “The Disaster Artist” (pundits have surmised that Franco lost a chance at a Best Actor Oscar nomination due to the allegations which surfaced just days before voting closed) and was also a part of one of the best TV shows of the year. HBO‘s “The Deuce.”
If you’ve watched Franco’s dual performance as twin brother Vincent and Frankie Martino in David Simon‘s brilliant “The Deuce,” you know how important his presence is to the saga, which details the rise of the porn industry in early ’70s New York City. However, with these new allegations, it remained unclear what HBO would decide to do about Franco and the series, which they renewed for a second season in the fall.
ET reveals that during last night’s Writers Guild Awards ceremony, writer Megan Abbott spoke to the media and confirmed that Franco would “of course” be part of the second season. She didn’t elaborate further.
Last month, Simon addressed the allegations, saying he never received any complaints about Franco’s on-set behavior and also confirmed HBO never did either.
“In our experience, he was entirely professional as an actor, director, and producer,” Simon told Variety in a statement. “Personally I can only speak knowledgeably to ‘The Deuce.’ I’ve checked with all my fellow producers and other personnel. We have no complainant or complaint or any awareness of any incident of concern involving Mr. Franco. Nor has HBO been approached with any complaint. In our experience, he was entirely professional as an actor, director, and producer.”
Plenty of questions still remain. Will there be a pushback on this decision? In the current #MeToo climate, can Franco survive what will surely be a contentious debate surrounding his return to “The Deuce”? The series can’t really continue without Franco, but it’s hard to imagine this will be the last we hear of the controversy.