Charlyne Yi has revealed that she quit James Franco’s 2017 film The Disaster Artist due to allegations of sexual misconduct. She also accused Franco’s peers, like Seth Rogen, of enabling such behavior.
Yi opened up about their experience working on The Disaster Artist, writing, “When I tried to break legal contract and quit Disaster Artist because James Franco is a sexual predator, they tried to bribe me with a bigger acting role.” Yi emphasized Rogen’s role in the caption, saying that he “was one of the producers on this film, so he definitely knows about the bribe and why I quit.”
“I cried and told them that was the exact opposite of what I wanted, that I didn’t feel safe working with a fucking sexual predator,” Yi continued. “They minimized and said Franco being a predator was so last year and that he changed...when I literally heard of him abusing new women that week.”
On the next slide, they added, “White men saying it’s not their responsibility when holding Franco accountable, or when holding Seth Rogen accountable. Then whose responsibility is it?” Yi also slammed a sketch that Rogen did with Franco on Saturday Night Live, where Rogen enabled Franco in “preying on children,” which is likely a reference to Franco’s hosting gig in December 2017.
In another post, Yi asked, “Why aren’t any of James Franco’s white male ‘feminist’ peers holding him accountable for abusing women then using his power and platform to gaslight them?”
Several women have accused Franco of inappropriate behavior over the years. In 2014, he admitted to messaging a 17-year-old girl on Instagram and inviting her to his hotel room. Four years later, several women tweeted accusations of sexual misconduct—and then another five women accused him of sexually coercive behavior at his now-shuttered Studio 4 acting school. He ultimately settled a suit with two of the women.