No Oscar Nomination For You, Alleged Assailant James Franco

Just when James Franco finally found a vanity project that connected with audiences, he was withheld Oscar consideration for alleged sexual misconduct. James Franco And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. The actor nabbed the Best Actor Golden Globe for his performance as Tommy Wiseau in The Room-based flick The Disaster Artist, but is notably absent from the newly-announced Oscar nominee lineup. Earlier this month Ally Sheedy got the assailant-shaming started with cryptic tweets, and was quickly joined by other women claiming that Franco conducted himself inappropriately around them.

One flash of Franco’s toothy smile makes me feel like I’ve been molested by a trusted uncle, but that alone doesn’t make him guilty of anything besides being foul to all the senses. While no hard evidence has been brought up against Franco, if you even so much as tangentially shame a victim, Rose McGowan will hunt you down and swallow you with her Sarlacc vagina, so Franco pretty much finds himself without any defenders. Either “innocent until proven guilty” just isn’t as headline-worthy as it once was, or Franco really did rape a bunch of women. Or make them feel uncomfortable. Or something. The nuances aren’t fun.

Last year Casey Affleck – an alleged assailant who always looks like he just rolled out of a brothel where he stabbed three women – accepted his Best Actor award for Manchester By The Sea with only minor backlash. But that was before people cared about the widespread abuse of power in Hollywood. It’s almost as if Franco is paying the price for Affleck’s win, and while I don’t wish anything good for Franco ever, this whole thing would make a little more sense if we had more evidence. Oh wait, did you just fall asleep? Yeah me too. Hang the bitch!

Photo Credit: New Line Cinema