The actor’s placard, which he was honored with in 2013, was defaced with the word “douche” written in capital letters with a red marker. It’s unclear who graffitied the star.

James Franco’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame got an unwelcome amendment this week.

The actor’s placard, which he was honored with in 2013, was defaced with the word “douche” written in capital letters with a red marker. It’s unclear who graffitied the star.

The vandalism comes after Franco was accused of sexual misconduct by several woman. His name was first brought into the national discussion of sexual harassment in January after he wore a Time’s Up pin at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards, where he won a trophy for his role in The Disaster Artist.

In an article published in the Los Angeles Times days later, five women accused the actor of abusing his power as an acting teacher and mentor in a sexually exploitative manner.

Two students claimed the actor would often become angry on set when they would refuse to film topless, while another former acting student at the film school Franco founded said he once removed safety guards while filming an oral sex scene on the set of the 2015 film The Long Home.

Additionally, actress Violet Paley recounted her previous social media claims that Franco exposed himself and tried to pressure her into oral sex. Though she said they had a consensual relationship, Paley said, “that time wasn’t consensual.” She also alleged that he told her friend to meet him in a hotel when the friend was 17.

James Franco Defaced Hall of Fame Star

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James Franco.

Franco addressed the allegations during an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers later that month.

“There are people that need to be heard,” the actor told 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. “So 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.”

The actor’s attorney, Michael Plonsker, previously denied each of the women’s allegations to the Times and cited Franco’s comments during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as his formal denial.

“Look, in my life I pride myself on taking responsibility for things that I have done,” Franco told Colbert. “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.”

Since the allegations, Franco has maintained a lower profile. He skipped the Critics’ Choice Awards, where he won the award for best actor in a comedy for his role in The Disaster’s Artist — though he did make an appearance at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

He was snubbed for an Oscar nomination and was also removed from the Vanity Fair Hollywood issue cover.

Sources have said the actor has been shaken by the allegations: “He’s in a really bad place,” a source close to the situation previously told PEOPLE. “His close friends are trying to be there for him.”

Echoed a second source, “This whole process has been very hard on him. He’s been shaken up.”