James Franco Settles Sexual Misconduct Suit

A deal has been reached in a 2019 lawsuit according to which James Franco allegedly intimidated his students into sexual situations at the acting school he founded.

According to a joint status report filed on February 11, two of Franco’s former students at his Studio 4 school have agreed to withdraw their individual claims. Sexual exploitation claims of Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal are also being dismissed.

Fraud allegations presented in the suit will be subject to limited release. It is not known how much money was decided in the deal.

Students were allegedly forced by Franco to perform bold scenes on camera in what they said as an “orgy-type setting”. Students also alleged that Franco taught them that they would get roles in the movies if they followed along.

However, Franco’s attorney called the claims, “false and inflammatory, legally baseless and brought as a class action with the obvious goal of grabbing as much publicity as possible for attention-hungry Plaintiffs.”