James Franco has addressed the recent allegations against him. Source: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
James Franco has been slammed by actress Rose McGowan after winning best actor at Critics Choice win amid sexual misconduct accusations.
The 39-year-old failed to show up to the Santa Monica awards event where he was honoured for his film The Disaster Artist on Thursday.
Hours before the ceremony, fivewomen made sex misconduct claims against him.
Franco strongly denies the allegations made against him, stating they are "inaccurate".
James Franco is a cuddly guy, but so are bears. Selectively Deaf Hollywood has heard about this asshole for years. His hipster Prince of Hollywood's bro status protected him. Bros before Ho's, amiright ? .@CriticsChoicepic.twitter.com/KclWjKIa5p
Attacking him for the win, Rose McGowan claimed Franco has been "protected" for years, reports The Sun.
She said: "I know what you did last summer: James Franco wins a Critics' Choice Award amid sexual misconduct claims. James Franco is a cuddly guy, but so are bears.
"Selectively Deaf Hollywood has heard about this a**hole for years. His hipster Prince of Hollywood's bro status protected him. Bros before Ho's, amiright?"
Franco was last week awarded best performance by an actor in a motion picture at the Golden Globes.
But the actor was dragged into the Hollywood sex scandal when two former student actresses, Hilary Dusome and Natalie Chmiel, described negative onset experiences with the actor-filmmaker while being directed by him in a Los Angeles Times article.
Actress Rose McGowan speaks on stage at The Women's Convention at Cobo Center on October 27, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. Photo / Getty
Sarah Tither-Kaplan said in a nude orgy scene three years ago, he removed plastic guards covering the actresses' groins while simulating sex — which his lawyer strongly denies.
Actress Ally Sheedy also said in a since-deleted tweet that Franco was an example of why she left the film industry.
He has since been criticised for wearing a Time's Up pin to the Golden Globes.
Speaking on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Franco said: "Being in that room that night was incredible, it was powerful.
Actor/director James Franco poses for a portrait during the 2017 SXSW Conference and Festival. Photo / Getty
"I support it, I support change and 50/50 in 2020.
"I have no idea what I did to Ally Sheedy. I had nothing but a great time with her and have total respect for her.
He added: "The others ... In life I pride myself on taking responsibility for things that I have done. I have to do that to maintain my wellbeing.
"The things that I heard and saw on Twitter are not accurate.
"But I completely support people coming out and having a voice because they didn't have a voice for so long.
"I don't want to shut them down in any way. I think it's a good thing and I support it."
He said: "The way I live my life, I can't live if there's restitution to be made. I will make it.
"If I have done something wrong, I will fix it. I have to.
"I'm here to listen and learn and change my perspective when it's off. I'm completely willing and I want to."
James Franco attends Cinespia's screening of 'North by Northwest' held at Hollywood Forever on May 27, 2017. Photo / Getty
McGowan's comments come as passages from James Franco's 2013 novel, Actors Anonymous, describing how the actor-director allegedly seduced "young girls" began circulating on social media.
The New York Post reports that the novel, which received scathing reviews, is billed as a meditation on acting. The collection of confessional tales by anonymous actors, including Franco himself, blurs the lines between fiction and memoir, but in some chapters, Franco describes in graphic detail how he approaches women.
In one chapter, Franco described how he kept a steady stream of sexual partners: "I had something going with most of my female co-stars and worked up a routine so that I could see someone every night."
He said that because of his frequent travel, he managed to meet young women all over the world.
"One of my favourite approaches was to ask the young girls that requested to take a photo with me to email me a copy of the photo; that way I can give them my info very quickly in front of a crowd of fans and later work out a way to see them."
In one particularly relevant passage, Franco described his view of acting teachers, saying they are "f—ked up."
Wrote Franco: "They are unlike any other teachers, because they deal with their students' emotions and bodies. They get inside their students' heads.
Even if they have the best intentions, they can't help from becoming gurus and therapists for their students, because they deal on such intimate terms. When you have a bunch of students looking up to you because you have liberated their emotions, it's hard not to play the role of mentor/lover/father/mother."
