Like many of the men attending the Golden Globes in early January, James Franco was wearing a #TimesUp pin on his collar. But for him, it was a move that prompted a stream of sexual misconduct allegations from women claiming that Franco had behaved poorly towards them.

Actress Scarlett Johannson even called out Franco to the 500,000 strong crowd at this weekend’s Women’s March in Los Angeles, telling him from the stage “I want my pin back, by the way.”

“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 wrote on Twitter. 

Actress Ally Sheedy also wrote, in now-deleted tweets about the Golden Globes ceremony, “James Franco just won. Please never ever ask me why I left the film/tv business” and “Why is a man hosting? Why is James Franco allowed in?”.

And now Franco’s sister-in-law, Alison Brie has been asked about the allegations.

Speaking to an E! News reporter on the red carpet at the SAG Awards, which Brie was attending as a cast member for nominated Netflix show Glow, Brie said that it “remains vital that anyone that feels victimised should and does have the right to speak out and come forward.”

“I think that above all is - what we’ve always said is that it remains vital that anyone who feels victimised should and does have the right to speak out and come forward,” she said. “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.”

“But, of course, now is a time for listening and that’s what we’re all trying to do.”

Franco has responded to the claims, telling Stephen Colbert that he “prides himself” on taking responsibility.

“I can’t live if there’s restitution to be made. If I’ve done something wrong, I will fix it. I have to. I don’t know what else to do,” he said.

Image: Rex Features