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James Franco Hesitates To Go After His Sexual Misconduct Accusers

(Photo credit: VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images)

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James Franco is hesitant to hit back at the women accusing him of sexual misconduct because he believes in the Time’s Up movement and doesn’t want to silence anyone who feels the need to tell their story.

Several women accused Franco of sexual misconduct after noticing that he wore a “Time’s Up” pin to the Golden Globes on Sunday night. A few more came forward with allegations against Franco in an article published in the Los Angeles Times on Thursday and the actor says he’ll let them continue to do so even though he claims the stories aren’t accurate.

“One of the things that I’ve learned is that this is a conversation that obviously needs to be had,” Franco said in response to the allegations against him on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” on Wednesday. “There are people–women and others–who have not been a part of this conversation and I truly believe in and why I was wearing the pin is that they need to be a part of this conversation. And, so, I support that.”

Meyers then gave Franco a chance to speak on whether or not the Me Too movement and the Time’s Up movement that followed has led him to question some of his own behavior in his past.

“There are stories that need to get out. There are people that need to be heard,” Franco said. “I have my own side of this story, but I believe in these people that have been underrepresented getting their stories out enough that I will hold back things that I could say just because I believe in it that much. And if I have to take a knock because I’m not going to try and actively refute things, then I will because I believe in it that much.”

Franco’s first accusers came forward with their allegations against him on social media on the night of the Golden Globes. They have further detailed their claims against the actor, revealing their alleged experiences with the “Disaster Artist” star to the Los Angeles Times.

(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Four of Franco’s five accusers were students at the Studio 4 film school he founded and the fifth referred to the actor as her mentor. The women claim Franco exploited his female students who were aspiring actresses for nude scenes abusing his power as a Hollywood star to make them comply.

In a particularly disturbing allegation one student claims Franco removed protective plastic guards covering the actresses’ vaginas while filming an orgy scene for a project. Another one of the women, who had a romantic relationship with Franco, claims that he once forced her to perform oral sex on him.

Franco has denied the allegations himself and through his attorney repeatedly but hasn’t tried to stop them from speaking in any way.