Will James Franco ever star in movies again? Peek at his recent lawsuit

Will James Franco ever be able to star in movies again? With all the controversy that now surrounds his name, we’d have to say not a chance. After years of sexual assault allegations that eventually led to a lawsuit from his past acting students, the actor recently had to pay millions to resolve the case. So what happened, and what did his past students accuse him of? Let’s take a look at all of the disturbing case details here. 

The lawsuit

While James Franco gained tons of admirers and worldwide fame for acting in tons of well-loved movies, it appears that the actor may now have to say goodbye to his career in Hollywood as he becomes a new example of misbehavior in the film industry called out from the #MeToo movement. Recently, James Franco and other associated entities have vowed to pay a total of $2,235,000 to resolve a lawsuit made against him. 

The lawsuit was made by James Franco’s former acting students, and they alleged that he pushed them to perform increasingly explicit sexual scenes on camera during the class. Details from the settlement were revealed thanks to the court filings that were made public on Wednesday, and this deal is currently awaiting to be approved by a Los Angeles judge. 

The two former students of James Franco who led the lawsuit all the way back in October of 2020 are Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal. The #MeToo movement that lit a wildfire in the Hollywood film industry exposed many high-profile names and big stars, and the movement has called for a new and more morally respectful Hollywood. The accusations made against James Franco eventually led to a class-action lawsuit. 

Details from the allegations

So if you don’t know anything more about James Franco other than the movies he’s starred in but want to know what exactly the actor was accused of, we’ve got you covered with all the details. Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal filed a lawsuit against James Franco for situations that allegedly occurred while they were acting students at the star’s Studio 4 Film School in New York and Los Angeles. 

Tither-Kaplan revealed to NPR that James Franco taught a class called Sex Scenes, and she explained that she was under the impression that the class would teach performers how to navigate sex scenes in a professional matter in the media industry. However, she said: “I did what seemed to be the thing that they wanted in this class, and that was get naked and do sex scenes and not complain and push the envelope”. 

She also told The Times that on one occasion, during a nude orgy scene she filmed with James Franco and other women, the actor removed protective plastic guards that covered other actresses’ vaginas as he performed oral sex on them. In another instance, two other student actresses recalled that one time, the actor became infuriated after no women agreed to go topless during a shoot. 

However, James Franco himself had publicly denied all these allegations made against him. People reported: “Of the $2,235,000 in the settlement, $894,000 would go to the named plaintiffs, and $1,341,000 would go into a common fund for the rest of the members of the class action. Tither-Kaplan would receive $670,500, and Gaal would receive $223,500 — both minus attorney fees”.

With all this bad press that now surrounds his name, it’s unlikely that we’ll see James Franco in any more movies, at least in the near future. We hope that as the #MeToo movement continues to expose people for their horrible actions, stars from Hollywood will continue to learn how to do and be better.