James Franco Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris ( Getty Images)James Franco will pay $2.235,000 to settle a sexual misconduct case brought against him by Sarah Tither-Kaplan (his Studio 4 acting school) and Toni Gaal (his Studio 4 film school). The deal is still awaiting approval by a Los Angeles judge. After court filings were made publicly, the details of the settlement for class action were made available.AdvertisementToni Gaal and Tither-Kaplan sued Franco in 2019. They claimed that Franco and his partner in Studio 4 Vince Jolivette engaged in inappropriate and sexually charged behaviour towards female students. This included sexualizing their power and position as teachers and employers by offering them the chance to take part in their projects.THR reports that all the parties to the lawsuit agreed to make a statement. One part of this statement is:Although Defendants deny all allegations in the Complaint they acknowledge that Plaintiffs raised important issues. All parties believe now is the right time to address the treatment of Hollywood women. All parties agree that it is important to ensure that no one, regardless of race, religion or disability, gender, sexual orientation, or gender, in the entertainment industry faces discrimination or harassment.Studio 4, where Gaal and Tither-Kaplan enrolled in 2014 offered several master classes in addition to its regular curriculum. One class on sex scenes cost $750. Prospective students were required to audition by recording themselves performing sexual acts on tape in order to allow Franco to review it later. Tither-Kaplan was able to take that class and was then cast in independent films directed by Franco, in which she was asked if she would like to be nude or perform sex scenes. Franco allegedly removed plastic covers that covered the vaginas of other actresses during one of these productions. He then simulated oral sex. Franco is accused of removing plastic guards that covered the vaginas of other actresses during one of these productions while he simulated oral genital mutilation on them.
