By Alexandra Whittaker
Mar 05, 2018 @ 12:30 am

Oscar night brought out Hollywood's biggest stars of the year for a night of awards, but there was one notable absence. Amid the numerous allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against him, James Franco did not attend the Oscars on Sunday night.

The actor kept mum about his Oscar plans amid the allegations of sexual misconduct others have brought forth, and at the end of the evening, he remained unspotted. Franco has been accused of "inappropriate or sexually exploitative behavior" from five women specifically.

Franco's attorney Michael Plonsker has disputed all of the allegations, and even though he was surrounded by controversy, Franco still attended the SAG Awards—where he was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role—in January.

Rich Fury/Getty Images

While Franco has been nominated for his performance in The Disaster Artist at virtually every awards show, the Oscars were a noteworthy exception. Franco was not nominated for any acting awards at the Oscars, but a PR crisis expert told InStyle that he should still have made an Oscars appearance to better handle the fallout.

“Unless new allegations come out, he will probably emerge unscathed. He just has to play his cards right," the anonymous source said.

RELATED: Why James Franco Should Attend the Oscars

"The fact that he's not going is a news story on its own," they added regarding the Oscars specifically. "My advice for him would be to go, be gracious, and either not do any interviews or do a very select few interviews. You want to lay low but not in a way that makes it seems like you're hiding."

“After rumors swirled and you've apologized for what happened, you need to keep your mouth shut, because you're just going to get more headlines, and what you want is for people to forget. Oftentimes, people want to keep talking when they're in a hole to dig themselves out, but you have to wait it out."

So, where was he on Oscar night? That remains to be seen.