‘If I’ve done something wrong, I will fix it’: James Franco responds to sexual abuse allegations

Actor James Franco, who just copped a Golden Globe for his film, The Disaster Artist, has been rocked by allegations of sexual misconduct. And now, a scheduled live event with Franco and The New York Times has been deep-sixed in the wake of the shocking claims. Not only that, but Franco was then grilled about the allegations by talk show host Stephen Colbert!

As CrimeOnline previously reported, during the Golden Globes broadcast, Franco was accused of sexual misconduct on Twitter by Violet Paley, a former acting student of the star.

In a blistering tweet, Paley wrote,”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?”

During the live Globes broadcast Sunday night, Franco was also called out on Twitter by The Breakfast Club star Ally Sheedy.

“James Franco just won,” she tweeted. “Please never ask me why I left film/tv business.”

Although Sheedy later deleted the tweet, she didn’t accuse Franco of anything directly. Franco had previously directed Sheedy in the 2014 Off-Broadway play, The Long Shrift.

AP reported that yesterday, The New York Times withdrew from a public event with Franco, scheduled for Wednesday. In a statement, The Times said that “given the controversy surrounding recent allegations,” the event was canceled.

On Wednesday night, according to the Hollywood ReporterThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert aired a sit-down interview with Franco. Colbert took no time to put Franco in the hot seat.

Colbert, who shot his show earlier in the day before The New York Times‘ announcement, pressed the actor on the issue. A talking point was Franco’s wearing of a #MeToo pin during the Golden Globes broadcast and his support of the “Time’s Up” movement.

“First, I want to say that I do support it,” Franco said. “I support change.”

When asked pointblank by Colbert about the recent allegations against him, Franco replied, “There were some things on Twitter, I haven’t read them. I’ve heard about them.”

Colbert dug his heels in and asked about the now-infamous deleted Ally Sheedy tweet.

“I have no idea what I did to Ally Sheedy,” Franco replied. “I have total respect for her. She took the tweet down; I can’t speak for her.”

“If I’ve done something wrong, I will fix it,” Franco told Colbert. “I have to. I don’t know what else to do. As far as the bigger issue of how we do it, I really don’t have the answers. I think the point of this whole thing is that we listen. I’m here to listen and learn and change my perspective where it’s off.

“I’m completely willing and want to.”

[Feature Photo: James Franco/Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP]