‘Glow’ Star Alison Brie Defends James Franco At SAG Awards
The Netflix television series, Glow, was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award this year along with its star, Alison Brie, but the actress received far more attention for breaking her silence on the red carpet regarding the sexual misconduct accusations made against her brother-in-law, James Franco.
On January 11, 2018, the Los Angeles Times reported that five different women — four of Franco’s former acting students and one woman he was mentoring — tweeted criticisms of Franco’s bad behavior after seeing him wear a Time’s Up pin during his acceptance speech for Best Actor for his role as Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist at the Golden Globes. Overall, Franco’s been accused of “behavior they found to be inappropriate or sexually exploitative.”
E! Celebrity News reporter Giuliana Rancic asked Brie the usual questions regarding her excitement for being nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series and if starring in a show about female wrestlers had changed her life in any way. Brie acknowledged her excitement at being nominated and attributed her work on Glow as the reason she has more confidence. It was perhaps this newfound confidence that allowed her to eloquently answer Rancic’s next question.
Rancic politely changed the subject to the Time’s Up movement when Brie and Rancic both acknowledged they have openly supported it since the beginning. She further transitioned by saying “so much of the movement has to do with transparency” before she directly asked Brie about her thoughts on the accusations and its effect, if any, on her and her family. Brie responded with this statement.
“I think that, above all, what we’ve always said that it remains vital that anyone that feels victimized should and does have the right to speak up and come forward. I, obviously, support my family and not everything that’s been reported is fully accurate. So I think we’re waiting to get all the information. Of course, now is a time for listening and that’s what we’re all trying to do.”
Brie’s statement is in line and completely reflective of Franco’s own stance regarding the accusations against him. Just a couple days after the initial tweets against him were made on Twitter, Franco addressed the accusations for the first time when he was on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on January 9 stating that they weren’t “accurate” but expressed his overall support of the Time’s Up movement in all. He has since consistently held the stance that he doesn’t want to do anything that will harm the movement by pointing out the inaccuracies within the accusers’ stories.
Unlike several of the other actors accused of sexual misconduct since the Harvey Weinstein scandal first broke last Fall, it seems that many agree with Brie’s support for Franco at this time. Here are a few examples of what’s being said on Twitter about it.
All in all, Brie and Franco’s supportive fans are encouraging everyone to be heard but to also have an open mind because everyone is innocent until proven guilty. However, it is yet to be determined how either innocence or guilt can be proven whenever there are accusations made outside of the confines of a courtroom.
