For all the activism on display last night at the Golden Globes, there was some deafening silence, particularly from the men in the industry. Ryan Seacrest asked several high profile actresses about the #MeToo movement and #TimesUp on the red carpet, yet, he didn’t bother asking any of the actors. Perhaps more egregious — of the over two dozen men who won Golden Globes, none of them mentioned #MeToo or the changes in the industry in their speech. Meanwhile, on Twitter, the conversation took another turn.
In a series of now deleted tweets by Ally Sheedy, captured by The Daily Beast, the actress and activist called out James Franco, and questioned his attendance — and win for Best Actor for “The Disaster Artist” — at the show.
Sheedy did work with Franco on the Off Broadway production “The Long Shrift” in 2014 (about a man wrongly convicted of rape who faces his accuser nine year later), which he directed, but it’s unclear if her comments are regarding any personal interactions she had with the actor.
The tweets have seen a renewed focus on Franco’s past, and a reminder that he did come under fire in 2014 for trying to hook up with a 17 year-old girl on Instagram, an incident he didn’t-quite apologize for, but mostly seemed embarrassed about getting caught. However, it does seem there is more to come. Allegations are beginning to surface online, from actresses Violet Paley and Sarah Tither-Kaplan, and a couple cryptic tweets from New York Times television critics Margaret Lyons and actress Zoe Kazan suggesting that the story might be far from over, not just for Franco, but perhaps others at the Globes:
Cute #TIMESUP pin James Franco. Remember the time you pushed my head down in a car towards your exposed penis & that other time you told my friend to come to your hotel when she was 17? After you had already been caught doing that to a different 17 year old?
— Violet Paley (@VioletPaley) January 8, 2018
Hey James Franco, nice #timesup pin at the #GoldenGlobes , remember a few weeks ago when you told me the full nudity you had me do in two of your movies for $100/day wasn't exploitative because I signed a contract to do it? Times up on that!
— Sarah Tither-Kaplan? (@sarahtk) January 8, 2018
There’s going to be another Powerful Hollywood Man accused of something grotesque, and the most recent Getty photo of him will be from tonight, with his Time’s Up pin on
— Margaret Lyons (@margeincharge) January 8, 2018
i'm all for solidarity & visible protest but there is definitely at least one man in that room wearing a #TIMESUP pin who is the exact opposite of an ally
— zoe kazan (@zoeinthecities) January 8, 2018
Franco hasn’t responded to Sheedy’s tweets, but backstage at the Globes, he did address #MeToo (via THR) saying, “I guess I believe whenever any group is treated differently or given less right or less equality then it is everyone’s responsibility to stand up for change.”
If we’ve learned anything since the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke, #MeToo and #TimesUp is only just getting started, and there is much more reckoning in Hollywood to come.