James Franco chose to skip the Critics Choice Awards on Thursday night in the wake of the sexual misconduct allegations leveled against him this week. He is pictured above at the Golden Globes on Sunday wearing his Time's Up pin

Rose McGowan has hit out at James Franco following his Critics Choice win as the actor chose to avoid the award ceremony in a week where he was hit with multiple sexual misconduct allegations.

The 39-year-old actor was noticeably absent as he was awarded best actor in a comedy for his film The Disaster Artist on Thursday night in Santa Monica.

Soon after his win, McGowan tweeted that Franco's 'Prince of Hollywood's bro status' has protected him up until now, as she suggested that people have known about claims of sexual misconduct related to him for years.

'I know what you did last summer: 'James Franco wins a Critics' Choice Award amid sexual misconduct claims',' McGowan tweeted.

'James Franco is a cuddly guy, but so are bears. Selectively Deaf Hollywood has heard about this a**hole for years. His hipster Prince of Hollywood's bro status protected him. Bros before Ho's, amiright?' she added.

Presenter Walton Goggins accepted the award on Franco's behalf at the Critics Choice Awards on Thursday night after the actor flew back to New York following the Golden Globes.

Franco won the same award at the Globes on Sunday night.

Franco won the Critics Choice Awards for best actor in a comedy for his film The Disaster Artist but wasn't present to accept his award

Soon after his win, McGowan tweeted that Franco's 'Prince of Hollywood's bro status' has protected him up until now

Five women have made claims of inappropriate sexual behavior against Franco after the actor wore a pin supporting the 'Time's Up' initiative for gender equality at the Golden Globes.

Actress Ally Sheedy said in a since-deleted tweet that Franco was an example of why she left the movie business.

Two of Franco's former student actresses, Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Violet Paley, described negative on-set experiences with the actor-filmmaker while being directed by him, according to a LA Times expose.

Tither-Kaplan claimed she was shooting a nude orgy scene with Franco and several other actresses when he took off the protective piece of plastic covering their genitals while simulating oral sex. Paley had a consensual relationship with the actor, but claims that he once forced her into performing oral sex on her while they sat in his car.

Paley and Tither-Kaplan both shared parts of their story on Twitter last weekend following Franco's Globe win.

On Wednesday night's 'Late Night With Seth Meyers,' Franco said the tweets by Paley and Tither-Kaplan were 'not accurate' but he supported the women's right to express their perspectives. Franco, speaking through his lawyer, Michael Plonsker, denied the allegations being made by the women in the LA Times article.

Host Olivia Munn mentioned the sexual harassment claims plaguing Hollywood several times, including in a segment titled 'Toast To The Good Guys' with Niecy Nash

Host Olivia Munn kicked off the night's proceedings by performing a rap with Jay Pharoah

Olivia Munn mentioned the sexual harassment claims plaguing Hollywood several times as she hosted the Critics Choice Awards on Thursday night, including in a segment titled 'Toast To The Good Guys' with Niecy Nash.

'Here's a toast to all the good guys in Hollywood,' Munn said as she raised a glass of champagne.

She then took a dig at Mark Wahlberg's reported salary for the All the Money in the World reshoots.

'I do want to say thank you to the producers for paying Niecy and I the same amount of money and Mark Wahlberg $1 million,' she said. 'He took a pay cut, so that's really nice and generous of him. Thank you so much.'

Munn also thanked the 'studio executive who had me meet him in the hotel conference room instead of his actual hotel room' and 'that famous actor who didn't treat me like crap after I said I didn't want to get drinks with him after the show.'

Nash also started to thank all the men who spoke up at the Golden Globes on Sunday, but Munn cut her off saying, 'Actually, they didn't really say much there.'

Munn has previously publicly accused director Brett Ratner of misconduct and harassment and she is an outspoken critic of a Hollywood power structure that she says rewards abusers and silences victims.

Kumail Nanjiani took to the stage with some of his The Big Sick co-stars and cast as they were awarded best comedy. He jokingly thanked 'all the white men who brought us here'

Nicole Kidman and Laura Dern both took home gongs for their roles in Big Little Lies

Rachel Brosnahan won best actress in a comedy series The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. In accepting her award, she begged the crowd to keep supporting the Time's Up initiative

It was a big night for The Handmaid's Tale with the show picking up three awards, including best actress in a drama series for Elisabeth Moss

Gal Gadot was honored at the awards with the #SeeHer accolade.

The award recognizes women who 'push boundaries' and 'recognize the importance of accurately portraying women across the entertainment landscape.'

Gadot accepted the award by saying she has always wanted to play strong, independent, real women throughout her career - and that she found all those qualities in her Wonder Woman role.

'She's full of heart, strength, compassion, and forgiveness. She sees wrong that must be made right. She takes action when everyone around her is idle. She commands the attention of the world, and in doing so, she sets a positive example for humanity,' Gadot said.

The 32-year-old also mentioned that when she first started out in the industry there were 'very few female-led movies and even fewer female directors' - but things are changing.

Gadot noted that in 2017, three of the top grossing films were female-led including Wonder Woman.

'There were eight other films in the top 100, which were directed by females,' she said. 'So although this is progress, but there's still a long way to go.'

Wonder Woman Gal Gadot was honored at the awards with the #SeeHer accolade

Gadot accepted the award by saying she has always wanted to play strong, independent, real women throughout her career - and that she found all those qualities in her Wonder Woman role

FIVE WOMEN ACCUSE JAMES FRANCO OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT Five women have made claims of inappropriate sexual behavior against Franco after the actor wore a pin supporting the 'Time's Up' initiative for gender equality at the Globes. Violet Paley had a consensual relationship with the actor, but claims that he once forced her into performing oral sex on her while they sat in his car. The other four women were students at Studio 4, Franco's now-closed acting school, and claim the 39-year-old Oscar nominee asked women both on set and in class to perform topless or even completely nude, according to an LA Times expose. Claims: Sarah Tither-Kaplan (left) and Violet Paley (right) have accused Franco of inappropriate sexual behavior One of those women, Sarah Tither-Kaplan, claims that she was shooting a nude orgy scene with Franco and several other actresses on one of the actor's film projects when he took off the protective piece of plastic covering their genitals while simulating oral sex. This is not the first time Paley and Tither-Kaplan are speaking out, with both women having shared parts of their story on Twitter this weekend following Franco's Golden Globe win for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical. Franco, speaking through his lawyer, Michael Plonsker, denied the allegations being made by all five women. He did however call and apologize to both Tither-Kaplan and Paley according to the two women. Hilary Dusome and Natalie Chmiel said they became disenfranchised with Franco and his acting classes back in 2012 when they were selected to appear in what they were led to believe was a short art film. It was midway through the shoot, which took place at a strip club, when they claim Franco asked them if they would be willing to go topless. When none of the women volunteered he allegedly stormed off the set. Actress Ally Sheedy made waves when she called out Franco on Sunday, doing so in a series of tweets throughout the show. Disaster: Ally Sheedy went after James Franco on Twitter following his Best Actor win at the Golden Globes on Sunday (pair above in 2014 at the opening night party for The Long Shrift) 'Why is a man hosting? Why is James Franco allowed in? Said too much. Nite love ya,' wrote Sheedy at the start of the telecast. 'Ok wait. Bye. Christian Slater and James Franco at a table on ‪@goldenglobes ‪#MeToo‪,' said Sheedy an hour into the program. And in her final tweet, posted right after Franco's victory in the Best Actor category, she said: 'James Franco just won. Please never ever ask me why I left the film/tv business.' Sheedy later deleted the tweets. Franco painted himself as a martyr for the case while appearing of Seth Meyers' NBS show on Wednesday, stating: 'There are stories that need to get out. There are people that need to be heard. 'I have my own side of this story, but I believe in, you know, these people that have been underrepresented getting their stories out enough that I will, you know, hold back things that I could say just because I believe in it that much. 'And if I have to take a knock because I'm not going to, you know, try and, you know, actively refute things, then I will, because I believe in it that much.' Advertisement

As the show kicked off Kumail Nanjiani took to the stage with some of his The Big Sick co-stars and cast as they were awarded best comedy.

He thanked 'all the white men who brought us here', before adding: 'Men have been talking for centuries, it's time for us to shut up and listen.'

Rachel Brosnahan won best actress in a comedy series for Amazon show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. In accepting her award, she begged the crowd to keep supporting the Time's Up initiative.

It was a big night for The Handmaid's Tale with the show picking up three awards, including best drama series and best supporting actress in a drama series.

The show's star Elisabeth Moss was awarded best actress for her role. Moss plays one of the few fertile women left in a world ruled by a totalitarian regime where women are considered property.

HBO drama Big Little Lies was also a big winner with Nicole Kidman taking home best actress, while her co-stars Alexander Skarsgard and Laura Dern took home best supporting actor gongs.

Best actor in a drama series went to Sterling K. Brown for his role in This Is Us, following his win in the same category at Sunday's Globes and Hollywood vet Ted Danson took home the gong for best actor in a comedy for his turn as Michael in comedy The Good Place.