While speaking at the LA Women's March last Saturday, Scarlett Johansson called out James Franco, alluding to the multiple allegations of sexual misconduct that have emerged against the actor.
Johansson was speaking as part of Time's Up, a group supplying legal aid to those fighting against sexual harassment and assault, founded by a group of high-profile women in the entertainment industry. Before multiple women accused Franco, the actor appeared at the Golden Globes, wearing a Time's Up pin to support the group.
“How could a person publicly stand by an organization that helps to provide support for victims of sexual assault, while privately preying on people who have no power?" She said, before adding, "I want my pin back, by the way."
While Johansson didn't name the actor in her speech, her representatives later confirmed to the LA Times that she was referring to Franco. Franco has previously denied the allegations, telling Stephen Colbert that “the things I heard are not accurate."
In the rest of her speech, Johansson opened up about her early experiences in Hollywood. “Suddenly I was 19 again and I began to remember all the men who had taken advantage of the fact that I was a young woman who didn’t yet have the tools to say no, or understand the value of my own self-worth,” she said. “I had many relationships both personal and professional where the power dynamic was so off that I had to create a narrative that I was the cool girl who could hang in and hang out, and that sometimes meant compromising what felt right for me.”
The actor finished the speech by explaining how she's vowed to now trust her instincts here forward. “No more pandering. No more feeling guilty about hurting someone’s feelings when something doesn’t feel right for me," she said. "I have made a promise to myself to be responsible to my self, that in order to trust my instincts I must first respect them.”
Watch the full speech above.
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