James Franco Sued for Sexual Misconduct by Former Students
Franco is facing legal action from two former students of his Studio 4 acting school.
Two former students of James Franco’s acting school came forward Thursday with a formal sexual misconduct suit the actor and his business partner, Vince Jolivette, the New York Times reported.
This comes after years of circulating allegations that Franco — also a former Tisch professor — has been guilty of predatory nature in the past. The two students, Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, accused the actor of engaging in “widespread inappropriate and sexually charged behavior” toward female students in the the acting school’s Los Angeles branch.
Tither-Kaplan and Gaal joined in 2014. During their time at Studio 4, Franco allegedly used different predatory behaviors to get them to perform in nude scenes he promised would bring them accolades. He also reportedly required potential students to film inappropriate audition tapes for his additional $750 sex scene master class and sign their rights away to the material.
Franco has yet to face ramifications for his misconduct.
In the master classes, students felt immense pressure to push their boundaries and were not allowed to use the industry-mandated nudity riders in simulated scenes, according to the lawsuit. In the class-action suit, open to other victims of Franco’s abuse, both Tither-Kaplan and Gaal are seeking monetary compensation and the destruction of any recordings of members of the school.
“I can’t sleep at night knowing that my coming forward, originally, did not do the work that I wanted it to do yet,” Tither-Kaplan said to the Times. “There still has been no action, publicly, that shows me that these people know what they did is wrong and harmful and can’t be repeated.”
University spokesperson John Beckman did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
If you are experiencing negative thoughts, please remember that the Wellness Exchange is available 24/7 at 212–443–9999. You can also email them at wellness.exchange@nyu.edu.
Additionally, the NYU Center for Sexual Misconduct Support Services is available to provide confidential assistance to complaints about sexual misconduct, abusive relationships, or other incidents of sexual harassment.
If you were one of Franco’s students during his time at Tisch and feel comfortable reaching out, you can email us at tips@nyulocal.com, or you can DM us @NYULocal. We also are on Signal, an encrypted messaging platform.
