James Franco accused of sexual misconduct after accepting Golden Globes award in 'Time's Up' pin

Many viewers criticised the actor's win on social media

Many are questioning the integrity of the Golden Globes after the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) awarded James Franco with the trophy for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy.

The actor accepted the award for his role in The Disaster Artist while wearing a “Time's Up” pin, something which later saw several women shine a light on his alleged past behaviour including one actress who accused him of sexual misconduct.

It started with a cryptic tweet from The Breakfast Club star Ally Sheedy who, while failing to make a specific allegation against Franco and Mr. Robot star Christian Slater, accompanied her message with #MeToo - the hashtag representing support of sexual harassment victims following the recent scandal in Hollywood.

“Ok wait. Bye. Christian Slater and James Franco at a table on @goldenglobes #MeToo,” Sheedy - who was directed by Franco in 2014 play The Long Shift - wrote in a tweet she later deleted.

She added: “James Franco just won. Please never ever ask me why I left the film/TV business,” Sheedy wrote in another.

Actor Violet Paley accused Franco of sexual assault and attempting to lure her 17-year-old friend to his hotel room.

“Cute #TimesUp pin James Franco. Remember the time you pushed my head down in a car towards your exposed penis & that other time you told my friend to come to your hotel when she was 17? After you had already been caught doing that to a different 17 year old?” she wrote on Twitter.

The allegation came after many viewers criticised the actor's win on Twitter accusing him of misconduct in the past including an alleged prior incident in which the actor is claimed to have propositioned a 17-year-old girl on Instagram after meeting her outside Broadway show Of Mice and Men.

Franco himself addressed the incident in April 2014 on Live! With Kelly and Michael, saying: “I’m embarrassed, and I guess I’m just a model of how social media is tricky,” Franco said. “It’s a way people meet each other today, but what I’ve learned is you don’t know who’s on the other end. I used bad judgement and I learned my lesson.”

The ceremony, hosted by Seth Meyers, saw empowering speeches from winners Oprah Winfrey and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri star Frances McDormand. Praise was also heaped upon Natalie Portman for casually making a swipe at the fact all the nominees in the category of Best Director - which she was presenting alongside Ron Howard - were all male.

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