The New York Times has canceled James Franco’s TimesTalk, a public conversation moderated by a Times reporter to discuss Franco’s latest film, The Disaster Artist, due to “recent allegations.” The talk was originally scheduled for Wednesday.
The TimesTalk gathering at New York City’s Kaufman Music Center was intended to showcase Franco and his brother Dave’s work in their film The Disaster Artist as well as “their familial bond, behind–the–scenes antics, and how there is more than one way to become a legend,” according to the official event page.
“The event was intended to be a discussion of the making of the film, The Disaster Artist. Given the controversy surrounding recent allegations, we’re no longer comfortable proceeding in that vein,” a Times representative said Tuesday in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
The decision comes two days after Franco won a Golden Globe for portraying filmmaker Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist, which he also directed.
During the Golden Globes telecast, several women accused Franco of sexual misconduct on Twitter. In one tweet, actress Violet Paley claimed that the actor once forced her to perform oral sex on him, and that he had asked one of her friends to “come to [his] hotel” when she was 17.
Paley later tweeted that Franco had, several weeks prior, apologized over the phone for past conduct to herself and “a few other girls.”
Sarah Tither-Kaplan, a former acting student of Franco’s, also recalled on Twitter what she remembered as an exploitative experience with nude scenes in his films.
Franco was one of the many men in attendance at the Golden Globes ceremony who wore a Time’s Up pin, supporting the anti-sexual harassment project spearheaded by Hollywood women including Kathleen Kennedy and Reese Witherspoon.
Jan. 9, 6:55 p.m. Updated with an official statement from The New York Times.
