Who is Violet Paley, one of the women accusing James Franco of sexual abuse?
The 2018 Golden Globes were all about standing up for women’s rights and protesting sexual abuse. However, some of the night’s winners were proof of just how much more work needs to be done. James Franco is an example of a Hollywood elite who continues to be praised for his work even while being accused of sexual abuse. Immediately after he won the award for Best Actor in Comedy or Musical, several women spoke up to say that Franco had sexually abused or harassed them. Violet Paley is one of those women.
The image of Franco, wearing a #TimesUp pin and speaking out against sexual assault, clearly didn’t sit right with Paley. After the Golden Globes aired, Paley took to Twitter, where she accused Franco of sexually assaulting herself and her 17-year-old friend.
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
Once the tweet was live, Paley was immediately inundated with tweets demanding evidence of the account. She replied to say she did have evidence and was looking for the best way to release it. She also said that, at the time, she was an adult and was not 17 years old, adding that more details would be coming out soon.
In addition, Paley tweeted that she had a consensual relationship with Franco, stating that was partly why it was hard for her to open up about the incident.
another reason it’s been hard to come forward about this. we did have a consensual relationship as well. unfortunately & fortunately, there are others who went through this same thing as me with him, and worse. I’m glad I am strong enough to speak up for all of us despite trolls
— Violet Paley (@VioletPaley) January 9, 2018
Paley is an actress who has appeared in the films Chipped, Pink Zone, and Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll. She is also a writer who has written for publications like Playboy.
need to start taking care of myself as well as I take care of my sims
A post shared by Violet Paley (@violetpaley) on Jan 8, 2018 at 7:35pm PST
After her tweet went viral, other women started sharing their own stories about Franco’s behavior. One user accused him of hitting on her 16-year-old cousin:
I believe you. He hit on my 16 yo cousin too.
— K (@peasandkaris) January 8, 2018
Another user shared a screenshot of an Instagram direct message conversation in which Franco tried to get an underage girl to come to his hotel room. This was one of the first times Franco was accused of inappropriate sexual behavior, a story that went viral a few years ago when it broke but seems to have been forgotten by Hollywood.
I love how quickly Hollywood forgets.... as James Franco stands up there with his #timesup pin that he not so long ago tried to knowingly get an underage girl to come to his hotel room. #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/2GvZ8JkTxM
— Liv-TVThings Analyst (@DontBscaredRude) January 8, 2018
Paley was not the only person who accused Franco of inappropriate sexual behavior after his win at the Golden Globes. Several other women spoke up about the hypocrisy of Franco wearing a #TimesUp pin.
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
Actress Ally Sheedy called the star out on Twitter in tweets that have since been deleted, saying, “James Franco just won. Please never ever ask me why I left the film/TV business.” Although there was no official statement from her about sexual harassment, it’s definitely implied. Golden Globes host Seth Meyers also joked about how Franco is “seedy” in his opening monologue, though it isn’t clear what he was referring to.
Franco has yet to make a statement about the allegations against him, but Paley did say that he had apologized to her and other girls a few weeks ago:
A couple weeks ago, James offered me & a few other girls an overdue, annoyed, convenient phone “apology”. I don’t accept, but maybe some other people’s lives would be made easier if he donated all of his earnings from “The Disaster Artist” to @RAINN01.
— Violet Paley (@VioletPaley) January 9, 2018
We’re keeping an eye on the situation to see if anyone else speaks up or if Franco addresses these serious allegations.
