James Franco, who is currently starring in The Deuce, once again seems to be in legal trouble. Two women have accused him and his partners at his film school named Studio 24 of sexually assaulting them by calling for nude auditions and shooting sex scenes. In the lawsuit filed, these women have called his film school ‘bogus’ and that the star promised them to give roles in films and series. But they were never fulfilled. Women named Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, former students at Franco's film school, have made these allegations.
A part of the lawsuit reads, “engaged in widespread inappropriate and sexually charged behavior towards female students by sexualizing their power as a teacher and an employer by dangling the opportunity for roles in their projects,” as reported by The Guardian.
On the other hand, James Franco’s attorney Michael Plonsker has called this lawsuit as a publicity-seeking tactic. “James will not only fully defend himself, but will also seek damages from the plaintiffs and their attorneys for filing this scurrilous publicity seeking lawsuit,” he said as per Reuters.
Reportedly, the students of Studio 24 were also encouraged to join the sex scenes master class which was worth $750. Tither-Kaplan, post the completion of the course, was even offered a role in a film that had James Franco indulging in an orgy with women. Reportedly, he removed the plastic guards covering vaginas of women while simulating oral sex.
This is for the second time that James Franco has been accused of sexual harassment. In 2018, five women including a few students of his acting school has accused James of sexually exploiting them. One of the women then had quoted, “I felt like I was selected for something based on my hard work and my merit, and when I realised it was because I have nice [breasts], it was pretty clear that was not the case,” as reported by the Guardian.
We await more updates in this case.
Image Source: Instagram/officialjamesfrancoo