Pop Culture

James Franco Accuser: Tolerating Him Lets Harvey Weinstein Off the Hook, Too

Two of James Franco's accusers went on GMA to talk about the alleged incidents.

James Franco notably didn't skip the Screen Actor's Guild Awards on Sunday after being accused of "sexual exploitative behavior" by several women.

But on the same Tuesday morning that Franco was noticeably absent from the Oscars nomination list for The Disaster Artist, which just earned him a Golden Globe, two of his accusers, Violet Paley and Sarah Tither-Kaplan, voiced their thoughts on Good Morning America.

"James abused his power by exploiting the non-celebrity women that he worked with under the guise of giving them opportunities," said Tither-Kaplan. "Being an actor and a filmmaker and working in the industry has been my dream since I was like maybe five or six and I knew that by coming forward I was risking my career."

Tither-Kaplan also made sure to note that she doesn't think Franco is the same as Harvey Weinstein, who she called an "unfeeling monster who has no sense of reality." However, that doesn't mean that it shouldn't be addressed.

"It’s a pyramid, and at the top is rape and sexual violence and at the bottom are the other abuses of power... that continue to build and build and build and create a culture that allows the most heinous examples of sexual violence and misogyny and discrimination to happen," she continued. "So if we allow any of them, we’re allowing all of them."

But she hopes that Franco uses "his power to give opportunities to women that are real and valuable and actually give them career advancement."

As for Paley, she only had one request for Franco: "Please just apologize."

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