James Franco Did Attend the SAG Awards 2018 Amid Sexual Misconduct Claims

James Franco speaks onstage during the National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala in 2018
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for National Board of Review
Actor James Franco speaks onstage during the National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on January 9, 2018 in New York City.

James Franco did in fact attend the 2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards. It marks his first public appearance since 5 women came forward in a Los Angeles Times article and accused him of sexual misconduct, exploitation and abuse of power.

On Sunday, he was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for his movie, The Disaster Artist. Earlier this month, Franco won the Golden Globe and the Critics’ Choice Awards for the role.

Actor James Franco attends the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.

Franco has denied the allegations on multiple occasions. He told Seth Meyers during a late night appearance, “I have my own side of this story” and Stephen Colbert during another interview, “The things that I heard that were on Twitter are not accurate. But I completely support people coming out and being able to have a voice because they didn’t have a voice for so long.”

Franco’ sister-in-law and GLOW star Alison Brie told E! on the SAG red carpet: “I think that above all what we’ve always said is that it remains vital that anyone that feels victimized should and does have the right to speak out and come forward.”

She continued, “I obviously support my family, and not everything that’s been reported has been accurate, so I think we’re waiting to get all the information. But of course now is the time for listening, and that’s what we are all trying to do.”

Another nominee involved in a sexual misconduct controversy is Master on None star Aziz Ansari, who didn’t appear to be in attendance at the awards ceremony. Last week, in a report from babe.net, an anonymous woman alleged Ansari assaulted her. The comedian claims the sexual activity was consensual.

Ansari was nominated on Sunday after winning the Golden Globe for his role in the Netflix series. When Ansari’s name was called for the SAG award, the room suddenly fell silent. He lost the SAG award on to Shameless star William H. Macy.