James Franco has been spotted stepping out for a romantic dinner with his girlfriend, just days after having his image erased from a Vanity Fair cover.
Despite allegations of sexual misconduct by the 39-year-old Disaster Artist actor, his girlfriend Isabel Pakzad appears to be sticking by his side.
Franco and Pakzad were seen at luxurious private members’ club Soho House, Malibu on Sunday. 24-year-old Pakzad could be seen smiling at her partner, who she had first been romantically linked to back in November.
At one point, she reaches over to put her arm around his shoulders; planting a kiss on his cheek.
Pakzad is originally from Tenafly, New Jersey. She has previously been employed as a publicist in the entertainment industry, for companies such as Universal Music Group, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. Studio.
She is currently studying at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism to become a Master of Science in Integrated Design, Business, and Technology.
This latest affectionate scene comes in the midst of controversy for Franco. Vanity Fair recently confirmed he had been chopped from the Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue cover.
In a statement to CNN, the publication said:
We made a decision not to include James Franco on the Hollywood cover once we learned of the misconduct allegations against him,
The cover featured modern icons such as Tom Hanks and Oprah Winfrey. Franco had been placed between Michael Shannon and Harrison Ford and his absence was noted.
Franco was also snubbed by The Oscars when nominations were announced for the 90th Academy Awards.
This rejection comes just after he received Best Actor awards for both the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards.
Shortly after his Goden Globes acceptance speech was broadcast, actress Violet Paley tweeted about an alleged incident where she claims Franco sexually assaulted her.
Prior to the allegations, many people believed he was set to achieve great things at The Oscars for his memorable performance as cult filmmaker Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist.
Franco has denied the allegations made against him. Speaking with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, Franco said:
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. It’s a good thing and I support it,
He added:
The way I live my life, I can’t live if there’s restitution to be made. I will make it.
So if I’ve done something wrong, I will fix it. I have to.
I mean, I think that’s how that works. I don’t know what else, I don’t know what else to do.
I mean, as far as the bigger issues, you know, how we do it. I, look, I really don’t have the answers and I think the point of this whole thing is that we listen.
You can watch Franco and Colbert discuss the allegations below:
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The story continues to unfold.
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.