On Sunday, James Franco, like many of the attendees, wore a black-and-white Time’s Up pin to support the event’s anti-sexual harassment message. On the night Franco won best actor for his performance in The Disaster Artist (and ruffled some feathers for blocking Tommy Wiseau from the mic), but he also made the news for accusations made by Ally Sheedy on Twitter. The Breakfast Club actress tweeted (and soon deleted) “Why is a man hosting? Why is James Franco allowed in? Said too much” then, after his win, “James Franco just won. Please never ever ask me why I left the film/tv business”.

Following Sheedy’s tweets, a number of other women came through with accusations against Franco and voiced discomfort with his attendance. One woman, Violet Paley, detailed on Twitter: “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?”

Another, Sarah Tither-Kaplan, wrote: “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!”

Appearing on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Franco answered Colbert’s uncomfortable questions about the accusations. Colbert handled it admirably; probing Franco with questions not only about his own allegations but about the issues in the world at large. Franco said that the accusations were “inaccurate” but praised women for standing up. His later comments were more vague – he said “if there’s restitution to be made, I will make it”. He also said that he makes a habit of fixing things he’s done wrong – not for the wellbeing of the affected party, but of himself.

While Sheedy didn’t make any specific accusations, it’s not the first time Franco has come under fire for his sexual conduct. In 2014, a series of texts and DMs were published that showed Franco hitting on a 17-year-old British girl and asking her back to his hotel room. He admitted to that particular incident and blamed it on not quite understanding social media.

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