James Franco Attends SAG Awards, While Aziz Ansari Sits Out

James Franco and Aziz Ansari both won major Golden Globes awards in early January, and both have since faced accusations from women as part of the #MeToo movement.

But on Sunday night, with the two men nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards, only Franco showed up.

Ansari was up for best actor in a comedy series but lost to William H. Macy of “Shameless.” Ansari was the only contender in his category to skip the awards show in Los Angeles, a major industry event where campaigning for the Oscars is common. A woman accused Ansari of aggressive sexual coercion in an article on Jan. 13, and the star said in a statement that he had believed his interaction with the woman was “completely consensual.”

Franco appeared briefly on camera when the nominees in his category were introduced. The crowd politely applauded, as it did with the other nominees. (He lost to Gary Oldman for “Darkest Hour.”)

The actors’ different approaches to the SAG ceremony illustrate the difficulty of maintaining a public persona and accepting industry accolades as colleagues and fans wrestle with sexual accusations.

Soon after Franco won a Golden Globe award for “The Disaster Artist” in early January, several women accused him of sexually exploiting them or other inappropriate behavior. Some women used social media to describe their experiences with him, while five women spoke to The Los Angeles Times.

Franco, who stars in the HBO drama “The Deuce” and was nominated for a SAG for his performance in “The Disaster Artist,” has denied the accusations. On Jan. 9, Franco said in an interview with Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show” that he was “here to listen and learn and change my perspective where it’s off.”

“The things that I heard that were on Twitter are not accurate, but I completely support people coming out and being able to have a voice.”

A day later, he appeared on NBC’s “Late Night With Seth Meyers.”

“I have my own side of this story, but I believe in these people that have been underrepresented getting their stories out enough that I will hold back things that I could say just because I believe in it that much,” he said.

“And if I have to take a knock because I’m not going to try and actively refute things, then I will, because I believe in it that much,” he added.

The New York Times canceled a TimesTalks interview with Franco that had been scheduled the week after the Golden Globes. “The event was intended to be a discussion of the making of the film ‘The Disaster Artist,'” The Times said in a statement. “Given the controversy surrounding recent allegations, we’re no longer comfortable proceeding in that vein.”

On Sunday night, there was no repeat of the red carpet statement at the Golden Globes, where actors uniformly wore black in solidarity with sexual misconduct victims.

While the subject didn’t come up as often in interviews, a few actors addressed it. Joseph Fiennes, one of the few actors to wear a Time’s Up pin, said he wore it for the sake of “aligning myself with voices who feel there’s a long way to go.”

Alison Brie, who’s married to Franco’s brother, Dave, said, “It remains vital that anyone that feels victimized should and does have the right to speak out and come forward.”

“I obviously support my family,” Brie told E! News’ Giuliana Rancic. “Not everything that has been reported is fully accurate, so I think we’re waiting to get all the information. But of course now is a time for listening and that’s what we’re all trying to do.”