A Mural Painted By James Franco Was Removed Following Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Him
James Franco’s legacy is getting painted over. At least, the mural he painted at his alma mater, Palo Alto High School, is. In 2014, the actor donated 20 large paintings to the high school campus, along with the murals he painted himself. While one of the murals was taken down in 2016, the second was removed in late January in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations leveled against him by at least five women. According to the school, the 20 other works will be “transitioned” out of public view.
“Related to this, district staff recently considered the best interests of our students in the light of our educational mission and decided to remove and return the remaining artwork. The second mural was taken down last week; our Latinos Unidos group is working with the Paly ASB and VAPA Department around the concept for a new mural to be painted,” Palo Alto Unified School District interim superintendent Karen Hendricks told The Hollywood Reporter.
Kimberly Diorio, the school’s principal, told the school’s student paper, The Voice, “I made the decision we’ll take down the mural on the [student center] because I think that’s the one that’s most visible to the outside community.” Diorio did note, though, that the decision to take down the mural was not a direct result of the allegations against Franco.
“These are still allegations,” Diorio added. “I can’t even say [the decision to replace the mural] is based on fact because he’s denied those allegations and hasn’t been charged with a crime.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor’s artwork was inspired by his own Palo Alto High School yearbook. “When I was a teenager, it seemed like I felt so much; everything seemed so important and there was so much pressure of all kinds and I was experiencing certain things for the first time. And so, the paintings, for me at least, captured that,” Franco told The Voice, in 2014.
Franco has denied all the sexual misconduct allegations against him. In a January sitdown with Stephen Colbert Franco said, “Look, in my life I pride myself on taking responsibility for things that I have done. I have to do that to maintain my well being. 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 because they didn’t have a voice for so long. So I don’t want to shut them down in any way.”
Related Content:
James Franco Responds to Sexual Misconduct Allegations Following Twitter Controversy
James Franco Was Digitally Removed from the ‘Vanity Fair’ Hollywood Issue Cover
James Franco’s Accusers Speak Out on ‘GMA’: ‘If We Allow Any of Them, We’re Allowing All of Them.’