Multiple women have accused James Franco of inappropriate or sexually exploitative behavior in an article published by The Los Angeles Times on Thursday.
The alleged misconduct took place primarily when Franco was an acting teaching at Playhouse West in North Hollywood and at a now-closed film school he founded, Studio 4. At Studio 4, he taught a class titled Sex Scenes, and students allege that he pressured them to perform scenes partially nude or acted inappropriately while filming sexual encounters.
In addition to these allegations, actress Violet Paley claimed that Franco forced her to perform oral sex on him while they were in a car together in 2016. Paley tweeted about the alleged incident during the Golden Globes on Sunday night whenwhere Franco picked up an award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. The actress Ally Sheedy also tweeted, James Franco just won. Please never ever ask me why I left the film/tv business. She later deleted the tweet.
Michael Plonsker, Francos attorney, said the allegations were not accurate and referred The Los Angeles Times to comments Franco made during a recent visit to the The Late Show. I pride myself on taking responsibility for things that Ive done, the actor told Stephen Colbert on Tuesday. The things that I heard that were on Twitter are not accurate, but I completely support people coming out So if Ive done something wrong, I will fix it. I have to.
James Franco: Sexual Misconduct Allegations 'Not Accurate'Marty Stuart on Making Ken Burns' 'Country Music'Killer Songs: The 10 Creepiest Country Murder Ballads
Vince Jolivette, who co-owns Francos production company Rabbit Bandini Productions, also disputed the allegations through a statement. [Studio 4] was always run professionally, he said, adding that the alleged behavior was very inconsistent with the mission of the school.
Student accounts differ. I feel there was an abuse of power, and there was a culture of exploiting non-celebrity women and a culture of women being replaceable, Sarah Tither-Kaplan told The Los Angeles Times. She alleged that Franco removed protective plastic guards covering other actresses vaginas while simulating oral sex during filming for an orgy scene.
Hilary Dusome and Natalie Chmiel, also students, claimed Franco pressured actresses to film a scene topless, while Devyn LaBella said that the actors film company, Rabbit Bandini Productions, would promise to hold parts in Francos films projects for Studio 4 students parts that required nudity. Katie Ryan, another Studio 4 student, added that Franco would always make everybody think there were possible roles on the table if we were to perform sexual acts or take off our shirts.
I dont think [Franco] started teaching with bad intentions, Dusome said, but he went down a bad path and damaged a lot of people in the process.
Paley was not a student of Francos, but she says she met him when he agreed to give her notes on a script. They allegedly started a romantic relationship, but Paley said the power dynamic [in the relationship] was really off. Franco later allegedly pressured her into performing oral sex on him. I was talking to him, all of a sudden his penis was out, Paley toldThe Los Angeles Times. I got really nervous, and I said, Can we do this later? He was kind of nudging my head down, and I just didnt want him to hate me, so I did it.
The accusations come as Franco is promoting The Disaster Artist, a film he directed and starred in about Tommy Wiseaus cult bad film The Room. Its unclear what effect these accusations will have, if any, on the promotion and distribution of the film as it enters award season. A rep for A24, the films distributor, did not immediately return a request for comment.