Franco fails to redeem his rocky reputation as Hollywood friends, including Seth Rogen, distance themselves from the actor.
Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, sued James Franco in October 2019, after the actor exploited his students to fulfil his sexual fantasies.
Initially stating that their claims were “not accurate“, Franco has now agreed to pay the $2.2m settlement cost.
Tither-Kaplan and Gaal stated that Franco attempted to use education as a guise to subject young women to “personal and professional sexual exploitation” where he forced his students to participate in sex scenes with the promise of appearing in his films.
Franco’s business partners, Vince Jolivette and Jay Davis, were also allegedly involved.
A judge will decide whether or not to approve the settlement cost.
People are not happy about the news and have taken to criticise America’s legal system en lieu of recent events:
I dont have an eloquent or funny tweet about it but between James Franco, Bill Cosby, and Allison Mack, today is just another shit day for sexual assault survivors and further proof that our “justice” system is so easily circumvented by the rich
— Dahlia 💜 (@JellicleSparkle) June 30, 2021
So much happened today. Bill Cosby is free. Britney Spears is still a slave. James Franco paying off his accusers. Amber heard trolling Johnny depp fans. This month is starting off crazy.
— Joshua T (@joshuaTwi_) July 1, 2021
If accepted, Titler-Kaplan will receive $447,000 and Gaal will receive $149,000, after lawyer fees. The remaining students who were also involved in the case will receive $1.341m, after legal fees.
Franco’s creepy antics have continued for a number of years, where he has previously been called out for his inappropriate behaviour.
In 2014, he was called out for attempting to seduce a 17 year old girl to meet him in a hotel room.
He later admitted to the flirting, expressing his embarrassment and saying that “social media is tricky“.
Seth Rogen, a long-time friend and collaborator of Franco’s, stated that after the recent allegations, he will no longer be working with Franco.
Busy Philipps, who worked with Franco and Rogen on the 1999 sitcom Freaks and Geeks, mentioned her surprise towards Rogen’s announcement, “…it’s interesting. They were super close and they had a very tight relationship.”
Philipps called out Franco for physical assault in her 2018 memoir This Will Only Hurt a Little. According to Philipps, Franco physically grabbed her and screamed in her face while they were working on the set of Freaks and Geeks.
She went on to say that the accusations against Franco are “very believable” considering his past behaviour.
