James Franco: Settlement deal reached in sexual assault lawsuit

Two actors claimed Franco intimidated students at film school he founded into exploitative sexual situations

A deal has been reached in a sexual assault lawsuit against James Franco.

In 2019, actors Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal filed a lawsuit alleging that The Disaster Artist star had intimidated students at Studio 4, the since-closed acting and film school he founded, into gratuitous and exploitative sexual situations.

Earlier this month, a status report jointly filed by both sides stated that a settlement had now been reached.

Tither-Kaplan and Gaal, both of whom had studied at Studio 4, have agreed to drop their individual claims under the agreement. However, elements of the lawsuit may live on in the future.

In the original lawsuit, it was claimed that Franco pushed his students into performing in explicit sex scenes on camera in an “orgy-type setting”.

Settlement deal has been reached in case, which was filed in 2019 (AFP via Getty Images)

The suit alleged that Franco “sought to create a pipeline of young women who were subjected to his personal and professional sexual exploitation in the name of education” with the promise of potential roles in his films for those who took part.

It said that the incidents occurred in a master class on sex scenes taught by Franco.

In a previous court filing, Franco’s attorneys, while praising the #MeToo movement that helped inspire the lawsuit, called its 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”.

Tither-Kaplan originally shared her allegations of sexual misconduct against Franco along with other women in the Los Angeles Times after Franco won a Golden Globe Award in early 2018.

You can find more information and advice for people affected by sexual assault and abuse at Rape Crisis or you can call the National Domestic Violence Helpline on 0808 2000 247