--- title: Violet Paley on Coming Forward With James Franco Allegations description: One of the woman who accused James Franco of sexual misconduct spoke to TIME about how hard it was to speak up. canonical: https://time.com/5099415/violet-paley-james-franco-allegations/ author: Samantha Cooney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-11T23:28:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:42:06.376Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: James Franco Accuser Violet Paley: 'I Wish He Made a Promise to Change' og:description: Paley spoke to TIME about her allegations, which Franco denies og:url: https://time.com/5099415/violet-paley-james-franco-allegations/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd5d045cb75665795/6988f7fd929fad59b6bef346/violet-paley.jpg?branch=production&width=640&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 640 og:image:height: 360 og:image:alt: violet-paley og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: James Franco Accuser Violet Paley: 'I Wish He Made a Promise to Change' twitter:description: Paley spoke to TIME about her allegations, which Franco denies twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd5d045cb75665795/6988f7fd929fad59b6bef346/violet-paley.jpg?branch=production&width=640&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # James Franco Accuser Violet Paley: 'I Wish He Made a Promise to Change' > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: TIME Person of the Year 2017: The Silence Breakers [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Person of the Year 2017: The Silence Breakers](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jbtW5SvJ.m3u8) (5:02)  _Published 2017-12-06. For giving voice to open secrets, for moving whisper networks onto social networks, for pushing all of us to stop accepting the unacceptable, the Silence Breakers are the 2017 Person of the Year._  by [Samantha Cooney](https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Jan 11, 2018 11:28 PM UTC  Truman Sherwood (Courtesy of Violet Paley)  by [Samantha Cooney](https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Jan 11, 2018 11:28 PM UTC When James Franco [denied sexual misconduct allegations](http://time.com/5096701/james-franco-stephen-colbert-golden-globes/) in an interview with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night, Violet Paley started crying. “I was just like: ‘Well, now no one is going to believe me,'” she told TIME on Thursday. Paley, 23, first spoke out about her experience with Franco [on Twitter ](https://twitter.com/VioletPaley/status/950252181965410304?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref%5Furl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.latimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fhollywood%2Fla-fi-ct-james-franco-allegations-20180111-htmlstory.html)after she saw footage of him [wearing a “Time’s Up” pin](http://time.com/5092936/james-franco-golden-globes-2018/) as he accepted the Golden Globe for Best Actor — Musical or Comedy on Sunday night. > [](https://twitter.com/VioletPaley/status/950252181965410304) Paley was among five women to accuse _The Disaster Artist_ star of [sexually inappropriate behavior](http://time.com/5098569/james-franco-women-accuse/) in a [Los Angeles _Times_ report](http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-james-franco-allegations-20180111-htmlstory.html) published Thursday. Franco’s attorney denied all allegations against him to the _Times_. His attorney and spokesperson did not immediately respond to TIME’s request for comment. Paley told TIME that she met Franco through a mutual friend in 2016 and that he took an interest in her writing. She said he was initially a “good friend and mentor,” then the relationship became “romantic.” In April of that year, Paley visited Franco on a student film set of an adaptation of William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” Paley’s favorite short story. Paley said she thought the two would hang out on set, but instead Franco came out to her car and asked her to drive to a different location. Once they parked, Paley said Franco pressured her to perform oral sex on him. “I felt really off about it, and I got really upset… I just thought I was being dramatic,” she said. “I knew I felt weird about it.” Franco’s attorney told the _Times_ that Paley’s allegations were “not accurate.” Franco and Paley’s relationship continued after the alleged incident, but they stopped seeing each other a few months later. The pair then fell out of touch, but a week after the New York _Times_ reported on [multiple allegations of sexual harassment](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html) against Harvey Weinstein in October 2017, Paley emailed Franco to express her discomfort with what she said happened in the car. (Paley shared the email with TIME.) She said Franco never responded to her email, but he called her months later to tell her he was a “changed man” and that he was wrong to be in a sexual relationship with her while she was recovering from substance abuse. He appeared on _Late Night With Seth Meyers_ on Wednesday night, where he again denied the allegations but said [he would “take knocks” to empower women to speak up about their experiences](http://deadline.com/2018/01/james-franco-seth-meyers-take-knocks-ally-sheedy-sexual-misconduct-1202240604/).  In this handout photo provided by NBCUniversal, James Franco, with Tommy Wiseau and Dave Franco, accepts the award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for “The Disaster Artist” during the 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 7, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California NBC/Getty Images Paley said Franco’s response is upsetting. “He’s saying that he cares about these women speaking out. It’s such bulls—t,” she said. “He lied on TV on two different late-night shows, making me — who doesn’t have a platform at all — look like a psychopath.” Franco told Colbert on Tuesday night that “if there’s restitution to be made, I will make it.” Paley said that Franco hasn’t reached out to her since she spoke up, and she has not tried to contact him. Paley said coming forward has been difficult. She’s received a barrage of criticism on social media, including death threats. She deleted the Twitter app off of her phone and made her Instagram account private, though more women have privately reached out to her with allegations against Franco. “I’m fine most of the time, but sometimes I’m regretful and wish I hadn’t said anything. Sometimes I just want to leave L.A.,” says Paley, a writer and filmmaker, but “I think it’s still worth it because of that feeling of knowing that you’re helping someone else and standing up for what you know is right.” She said it would be validating if prominent Hollywood women spoke out against Franco, but what she really wants is for Franco to take responsibility. “I wish he had originally replied to my email and met with me and just listened. I wish he made a promise to change,” she said. “When the [allegations against Louis C.K. came out](http://time.com/5017766/louis-ck-sexual-misconduct-allegations/) — and they were disgusting — he [acknowledged what he did](http://time.com/5019384/louis-ck-apologizes-full-statement/). It would give me some comfort if he were to say, ‘What happened was true and I’m sorry.'” ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] We can't all be ****. We can't all be asking for it. I am here to give you permission to be angry. This reality might not have to be our reality anymore. I felt this crushing sense of powerlessness. This is the time to take my power back. Here's my story. Uber promises. Investigation into sexual harrassment. Fox News cutting its ties with Bill O'Reilley. I felt it was my duty for the women who are silent to be brave. It's okay to stand up for yourself. Taylor Swift appearing in court today. Harvey Weinstein, the New York- People forget a lot that there's a human behind this. Someone who was very hurt and wronged. [ MUSIC ] [ CROSSTALK ] I always thought maybe things could change for my daughter. I never thought things could change for me. [ MUSIC ] Honestly, I was furious. I have had a man grope me in front of multiple collegues and I was tired of wondering if it was something I wore, I was tired of wondering if it was a vibe I was giving off and when I talked to other women they were furious too >> I felt that if I can speak out, may be if I just stand up then someone else would stand up with me >> There wasn't a place For us to report these experiences. But I sure did talk about it a lot over the years. The least I could do was actually tell my own story and validate theirs for them in a way, just as I was hoping someone much bigger than me would help validate my story. And I knew that other women Would continue to apple for jobs there and that made me feel really uncomfortable. I was afraid of the retaliation, I know the power of patriarchy. I know what men can do when their angry. They did everything that they could to prevent me from raising my concerns further. They asked me if there were other girls, maybe that he has done this too and can I go get them. I had to show them that I wasn't lying And it's like they took me for a joke. And if they couldn't stop us from talking, well, they were gonna stop everybody from listening to us. People digging into my Instagram and pulling up sexy photos as if they kind of discredited me. Well, I've seen you in committee. You're really tough. Why didn't you just hit him? Why did you let it go on for so long? I was a smart young woman that had gone to college, that knew how to fight, and I still was manipulated and conned. I felt ashamed that I hadn't spoken out sooner, not having the strength earlier on to make it stop. The feeling of being humiliated as a woman And there's a point you think is it my fault? For so long I went around harboring this ridiculous belief that because I was a non white woman in my 20s, it was expected that I would have to be treated this way. We don't have to just live like this. Few things could change from my daughter I never thought things could change from me. I'm here to give you permission to be angry, people are afraid specially women where conditioned since birth to be polite. To be nice, to be kind, to be liked to not make waves. ****. We can't all be crazy, we can't all be ****, we can't all be asking for it. And I'm telling you that all the people who stand up, all the people who speak out you are teaching people how to treat and you should not be shamed for that. The shame is not ours to hold, the shame is on perpetrator. Me Too can be a conversation starter or it can be the whole conversation. It took away the power from the predator. And placed the power on the victim. And maybe, just maybe we would be able to get a glimpse at the magnitude of this problem. The amount of people sharing the stories with me is so intense. People that were complete strangers reached out to tell very personal stories. It's What they did with this and they did a lot and not only in France in Hong kong japanese. The most months >> I feel like the day that I spoke up and I said you are a sexual harasser I changed >> some of the. Things in the night. [ FOREIGN ]. It's an honor to be the person that hey I spoke up about this. I took on the risk. And I was very humbled and I was very proud. I'm very glad now that the story has been heard. It's a direct response to that arrogance and that show of power and [ UNKNOWN ]. A sense, we won't be silenced. 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