Movie star James Franco was at the height of his Hollywood career when he was accused of sexual misconduct in 2018 by five women, four of whom attended his now-closed Studio 4 acting school, which opened in 2014. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Sarah Tither-Kaplan, one of the accusers, claimed that she and the other victims gave in to Franco’s requests because they believed it would benefit their careers in the long run. “I feel like there was an abuse of power and that there was a culture of exploitation of non-celebrity women and a culture of replaceability of women,” she said.

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During a 2018 episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Franco strongly denied the sexual misconduct allegations. But in October 2020, the women filed a lawsuit against Franco and two other men — one of whom co-owned the acting school with the “Freaks and Geeks” star — alleging that Studio 4’s students had been defrauded, viz constantly forced to perform sex scenes on camera. The matter was settled in 2021 when Franco and his co-defendants agreed to a $2.2 million settlement.

The shocking allegations came at the height of the Me Too movement, as scores of women in Hollywood and around the world began raising awareness about sexual harassment and abuse in the entertainment industry and beyond. As a result, the claims against the “General Hospital” alum Franco cost film roles and even a decades-long friendship with his collaborator Seth Rogen.

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On a December 2021 episode of “The Jess Cagle Show,” James Franco discussed the sexual misconduct allegations made against him. Regarding the decision to name one of his drama school classes “Sex Scenes,” the “Disaster Artist” star admitted that using the title was a stupid decision. Franco also admitted to having romantic relationships with certain students, but clarified, “I did not sleep with anyone in that particular class, but in the course of my teaching I did sleep with students and that was wrong.”

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It goes without saying that his comments were not well received. “This was not a misunderstanding about the name of a course, it was not the result of his revision – it was and is despicable behavior,” his accusers’ lawyers told Variety, adding, “No one should confuse this interview with Franco’s responsibility.” “Taking responsibility for your actions or expressing remorse for what happened.” In 2022, the actor returned to the film scene and landed a role in “Me, You”. Of course, other roles followed in the following years.

Franco spoke to Variety in October 2024 and expressed his gratitude for welcoming him back to Hollywood. “I went through a legal dispute, and during that legal dispute I didn’t work (…) But I definitely used the time to, I hope, serve a good cause,” he said, at the same time showing pride to the changes he had made in his life. And when Franco was asked how he felt about the eviction, the Golden Globe winner simply replied: “I’m just trying to move on.”

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