James Franco’s acting school, Studio 4, is facing a lawsuit for sexually exploiting students. Franco is widely recognized as an actor whose artistic and creative pursuits have taken to him into everything from filmmaking to painting to writing. Because of the substantial body of work that he’s responsible for, however, the law of averages dictates that not every effort on Franco’s part can be met with resounding success and acclaim.
Most recently that’s been the case with the 40-year-old Oscar-nominee’s directorial effort Zeroville, which debuted to less than $9,000 at box-offices over the weekend. The film marks the fourth outing as a director that Franco has made since being widely praised for 2017’s The Disaster Artist.
While a never-say-die attitude has arguably helped Franco’s artistic pursuits, The New York Times reports that allegations that first arose regarding the Pineapple Express star have now escalated to legal action. Two former female students from Franco’s now defunct acting school, Studio 4, have come forward with lawsuits, alleging that Franco and his partners in the school “engaged in widespread inappropriate and sexually charged behaviour towards female students”. These allegations first arose in January 2018, with five women coming forward to say that they felt Franco had abused his power and behaved inappropriately while mentoring them.
The two former students, Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal were not acquainted while attending Studio 4, but both have registered similar complaints about the manner in which it was run. Both women claim to have been promised exclusive auditions for independent films that Franco produced and directed as a result of being students at Studio 4, but which also ended up being open to actors who hadn’t paid the school’s tuition.
They also claim that a “master class” in sex scenes was offered at the school, for the cost of $750, with actors being required to audition on videotape and sign away their rights to these recordings. In both the auditions for these classes and the classes themselves, the women say that they were encouraged to push beyond their comfort zones in “simulated sex acts that went far beyond the standards in the industry.” After voicing discomfort with this process, Gaal says she was not accepted into the class.
For his part, Franco and his Studio 4 partner, Vince Jolivette have yet to respond to these accusations. Franco, however, is no stranger to sexual misconduct claims. In 2014, he faced controversy after admitting that he attempted to pick up a 17-year-old girl via his Instagram account. These latest allegations could indeed have a significant effect on Franco’s career, and although the lawsuit seeks only monetary damages as well as a return of the sex scene master class tapes of Tither-Kaplan and Gaal, Franco could indeed be facing the consequences of becoming his very own disaster artist.
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Source: The New York Times
