Maggie Gyllenhaal finally broke her silence on the James Franco allegations
Maggie Gyllenhaal is finally addressing the sexual misconduct allegations against her co-star, James Franco.
The actress discussed the accusations against Franco, who she stars with on HBO's The Deuce, in two new interviews, saying in both that she took them seriously. Franco in January was accused of sexually exploitative behavior by five women, some of whom alleged he pressured them into doing nude scenes while teaching acting and one of whom alleged he removed a plastic guard covering her vagina while performing in an oral sex scene with her, per the Los Angeles Times. An ex-girlfriend also accused Franco of pressuring her into performing oral sex on him. Franco denied the allegations, and HBO decided not to fire him from The Deuce, which began its second season in September.
Gyllenhaal, who is a producer on The Deuce, said in a radio interview that she "felt it was my responsibility" not to ignore the allegations, and so The Deuce's producers spoke to "every woman on the crew and in the cast to find out if they felt respected and what their experience of working with James was," per the New York Post. According to Gyllenhaal, everyone they spoke with said they "had been totally respected by him.”
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When Franco continued on The Deuce, some accused HBO of hypocrisy, since the series is, in part, about misogyny and the exploitation of women. Gyllenhaal acknowledged that, saying the show "couldn't be more at the center of that conversation" and that canceling it in response would have been "the wrong consequence to those accusations." Gyllenhaal also told Vulture that when it comes to the #MeToo movement, some situations are very black and white, while others are "much more complicated."
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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