Charlyne Yi: Seth Rogen Must Apologize to Assault Survivors After Distancing Himself from James Franco
Zack Sharf
Charlyne Yi took to Instagram in the aftermath of Seth Rogen publicly distancing himself from James Franco to urge Rogen to apologize to the women who accused Franco of sexual misconduct. In an interview with The Sunday Times published May 9, Rogen said he does not have plans to work with Franco again. Franco was accused in 2018 of forcing several of his acting students into sexual situations, among other claims of sexual misconduct. Rogen originally sided with Franco, saying in a 2018 interview that he would continue to work with him.
In an Instagram post published this week, Yi said Rogen’s decision to originally side with Franco was harmful to the women who accused Franco of sexual misconduct. Yi wrote that Rogen’s actions could have “caused denial, loss of reality, loss of intuition to protect self from future abusers, life-long health issues, [and/or] attempt in suicide” for the women.
Yi also provided a checklist for Rogen that included the following requirements: “Apologize to survivors for making their lives even more vulnerable by publicly siding with an abuser, further damaging their careers and safety; commit to educating self about coercion, sexual assault, and how to be a protective ally; promote protecting and hiring survivors.”
The checklist ended with Yi writing out the names of who Rogen should directly apologize to after distancing himself from Franco: “Sarah Tither-Kaplan, Violet Paley, Hilary Dusome, Natalie Chimel, Katie Ryan, Lucy Clode, and all the unnamed people who have anaonymously shared or been too afraid to.”
Yi originally came forward in the beginning of April to call out the “predatory” and “toxic” behavior that took place during the making of “The Disaster Artist,” which Franco starred in and directed. Rogen also starred in “The Disaster Artist” and produced the film. Yi said the filmmakers “minimized” her concern after she tried to quit the movie once Franco was accused of sexual misconduct. According to Yi, the filmmakers went as far as bribing her with a bigger role to keep her involved with the film. Yi identified Rogen as one of the “enablers” who need to be held “accountable.”
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