Last year, five women came forward with allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct aimed at James Franco, who stepped out of the public eye while still continuing to have a career with HBO’s The Deuce and his upcoming appearance in the Coen Brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Now, his Freaks and Geeks co-star Busy Philipps has come forward with a story of a time he allegedly physically assaulted her on the set of the short-lived TV series in her upcoming memoir This Will Only Hurt A Little.
Philipps describes filming a scene where her character was supposed to gently hit Franco’s, which Franco objected to. She wrote of the moment: “He grabbed both my arms and screamed in my face, ‘DON’T EVER TOUCH ME AGAIN!’ And he threw me to the ground. Flat on my back. Wind knocked out of me.” She refers to him as a f–king bully, and says that fellow co-star Linda Cardellini advised her to tell her manager and report him. Philipps says Franco apologized after being forced to by producers, but received no formal reprimand or punishment.
So where does that leave us, on the heels of seeing Brett Kavanaugh confirmed to the highest court in the land? Once more, we have seen that white men are allowed to hurt women and to behave abominably and still have careers. Franco’s career won’t be impacted by this. He won’t be labelled “difficult” and blacklisted from the industry. This story registers as a faint blow because if 2018 has taught us anything, it’s that change might be coming but it’s sure not here yet, so Franco will most likely not suffer any adverse effects from these allegations.
Forgive my bitterness; these last few weeks have made me more cynical than I thought possible. These stories break my heart because we have yet to see meaningful change enacted in any sphere, so white men will keep getting away with their bad behavior. That’s just the way the world works for now, and why we have to keep fighting for something to change.
- You know things are getting dire when Taylor Swift chooses to get political. (via Pajiba)
- Who lives, who dies, and who will tell Rick’s story this season on The Walking Dead? (via Den of Geek)
- White women, we need to do better. (via the New York Times)
- Check out Frank Waln’s new music video for “Wokiksuye” (via Teen Vogue)
- John Mulaney remains the only white male comic I trust. (via The AV Club)
(via IndieWire; Image: HBO)
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