It has been revealed that Vanity Fair digitally erased actor James Franco from the cover of their new Hollywood issue amid sexual misconduct allegations against him.
The star of The Disaster Artist was originally in the photo among other stars such as Reese Witherspoon, Tom Hanks and Oprah, but was digitally removed before the cover went out.
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“We made a decision not to include James Franco on the Hollywood cover once we learned of the misconduct allegations against him,” a Vanity Fair spokesperson exclusively told The Hollywood Reporter.
The final version of the photo snapped by iconic photographer Annie Leibovitz features Oprah Winfrey, Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Tom Hanks, Michael B. Jordan, Zendaya, Jessica Chastain, Claire Foy, Michael Shannon, Harrison Ford, Gal Gadot, Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Graydon Carter, and Robert De Niro.
12 extraordinary stars, one very momentous year. The 2018 Hollywood portfolio is here: https://t.co/6PfsFsPzK1 pic.twitter.com/MfRsp2y9Z3
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) January 25, 2018
One of the women accusing James Franco of sexual misconduct says that the actor is “absolutely not a Harvey Weinstein.”
During an interview on Good Morning America, Sarah Tither-Kaplan opened up about her encounter with Franco.
While she doesn’t believe Franco is “an unfeeling monster who has no sense of reality,” Tither-Kaplan does believe that Franco misused his position of power in order to put pressure on her and other women, according to a report from Page Six.
Speaking about the Studio 4 school where Franco taught, Tither-Kaplan said, “There were a lot of scenes that were added after we were given the original scripts that I felt — I wished I had more time to consider them or understand the artistic value of them.”
“A lot of times they seemed gratuitous or exploitative … He created an exploitative environment on his sets,” she added.
While many have spoken out against Franco on the wake of the allegations against him, he has not been without his defenders. One of the more surprising people to speak out in support of Franco is former America’s Got Talent judge Sharon Osbourne.
Camera’s caught up to Osbourne recently and recorded her response to being asked about people should refuse to vote for Franco to get an Academy Award. “F— off, he’s the best,” Osbourne fired back, “Are you kidding? So what? What has he done? He’s done nothing. So what if he’s got his d— out in a car? Big deal.”
She was then asked if Franco should even attend the big event, to which she replied, “He should go with his d— out.” Ultimately, Osbourne won’t see her suggestion become a reality, as Franco was not nominated for an Oscar this year.
