Scarlett Johansson Calls out James Franco at Women's March Rally
Scarlett Johansson called out James Franco during her speech at the Los Angeles Women's March [...]
Scarlett Johansson called out James Franco during her speech at the Los Angeles Women's March rally on Saturday.
Johansson did not mention Franco by name, but she alluded to the controversy surrounding the Disaster Artist actor, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women.
"How could a person publicly stand by an organization that helps to provide support for victims of sexual assault while privately preying on people who have no power?" Johansson said.
She added, "I want my pin back, by the way."
The Avengers actress' representative later confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that the comments "were meant for and referring to Franco."
Several of Franco's accusers surfaced when he appeared at the Golden Globes wearing a "Times Up" pin to stand with those accusing famous men in Hollywood of sexual misconduct. A few women directly called out the hypocrisy of the actor's decision to wearing the pin while making serious allegations against him.
"Cute #TimesUp pin James Franco," Violet Paley wrote. "Remember the time you pushed my head down in a car towards your exposed penis, [and] 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?"
Sarah Tither-Kaplan wrote, "Hey James Franco, nice #TimesUp pin at the Golden Globes. 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? Time's up on that!"
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
Franco has denied the allegations levied against him, but acknowledged that he wants to "fix" a situation if he's "done something wrong."
"I can't live if there's restitution to be made," Franco said on The Late Show. "If I've done something wrong, I will fix it. I have to. I don't know what else to do."
Aside from the Franco callout in her speech, Johansson acknowledged that she had been complacent with inappropriate actions in the past, but that she was no longer standing idly by.
"I had many relationships both personal and professional where the power dynamic was so off that I had to create a narrative that I was the cool girl who could hang in and hang out, and that sometimes meant compromising what felt right for me," Johannson said. "No more pandering. No more feeling guilty about hurting someone's feelings when something doesn't feel right for me."
"I have made a promise to myself to be responsible to my self, that in order to trust my instincts I must first respect them," she continued.