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Scarlett Johansson demands pin back from James Franco

Johansson shared her thoughts on Franco to more than 700,000 protesters at the Los Angeles Women's March.
Mila Kunis supports Scarlett Johansson as she speaks during the Women's March Los Angeles 2018 on January 20, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.

Scarlett Johansson came to the Los Angeles Women's March armed with fiery words for James Franco.

Standing before a crowd estimated to have reached more than 700,000 protesters, she questioned Franco's motives participating in the Time's Up initiative.

“How could a person publicly stand by an organization that helps to provide support for victims of sexual assault while privately preying on people who have no power?” said Johansson, an original member and donor of the newly created Hollywood organization.

“I want my pin back, by the way," she added.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Johansson's remarks on Saturday were aimed at Franco. Johansson's rep, Marcel Pariseau, confirmed the accuracy of the report to USA TODAY.

Franco wore a Time's Up pin to the Golden Globes, publicly supporting the initiative dedicated to confronting abuse of power and promoting racial and gender equality in the workplace.

Days later, the Los Angeles Times published a report alleging Franco had engaged in inappropriate and occasionally predatory behavior with four former students, one of whom said he was her mentor. Franco has denied the allegations.

Franco subsequently skipped the Critics' Choice Awards, where he won best actor for The Disaster Artist.

According to People and CNN, Franco is planning to attend Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards, where he is nominated for best actor.

During her speech, Johansson related her "rage" and "sadness" recalling her own experiences as a young woman in the entertainment industry.

“Suddenly I was 19 again and I began to remember all the men who had taken advantage of the fact that I was a young woman who didn’t yet have the tools to say 'no,' or understand the value of my own self-worth,” said Johansson, who began her career as a child actress. “I had many relationships both personal and professional where the power dynamic was so off that I had to create a narrative that I was the cool girl who could hang in and hang out, and that sometimes meant compromising what felt right for me.”

“No more pandering,” Johansson stated. “No more feeling guilty about hurting someone’s feelings when something doesn’t feel right for me,” she said. “I have made a promise to myself to be responsible to myself, that in order to trust my instincts I must first respect them.”

Natalie Portman expressed similar sentiments when she gave her remarks at Saturday's L.A. Women's March.

"Let me tell you about my own experience," Portman said, noting she turned 12 on the set of her first movie, Léon: The Professional. When the film was released, “I opened my first fan mail to read a rape fantasy that a man had written me,” Portman said. “I understood very quickly, even as a 13-year-old, that if I were to express myself sexually, that I would feel unsafe. And that men would feel entitled to discuss and objectify my body.”

The actress said the experience of being sexualized so young by fans, commentators and the industry in which she worked, caused her to "reject any role that even had a kissing scene. ... In interviews, I emphasized how bookish I was and how serious I was. I built a reputation for basically being prudish, conservative, nerdy, serious, in an attempt to feel that my body was safe and my voice would be listened to."

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