(LOS ANGELES), James Franco and his codefendants have agreed to pay $2.2 Million to settle a lawsuit alleging that he incited students at the acting and film school he established into sexual situations. Court filings, made public Wednesday, showed.Although the two sides reached an agreement to settle the class action suit in February of this year, it took many months to finalize details and the dollar amount wasn't disclosed.Toni Gaal and Sarah Tither-Kaplan, former students of Franco, filed the first lawsuit in October 2019. They claimed that Franco forced his students to perform more explicit sex scenes in a studio setting, Studio 4.Both sides agreed to make a joint statement.Although Defendants deny all allegations in the Complaint they acknowledged that Plaintiffs raised important issues. All parties believe now is the right time to address the mistreatment of Hollywood women, according to the statement. All parties agree that the entertainment industry must ensure that there is no discrimination, harassment, or prejudice, regardless of race, religion or disability.Franco allegedly sought to create a network of young women who were subject to his professional and personal sexual exploitation under the name of education. Students were also led to believe that they would have roles in Franco's films if they complied.Francos production company Rabbit Bandini, and his partners Vince Jolivette, Jay Davis and Jay Davis were also named as defendants.The settlement also includes non-economic terms not previously made public.It was submitted to Los Angeles Judge for approval.Tither-Kaplan made her accusations of sexual misconduct against Franco in Los Angeles Times before she filed the lawsuit. This was after Franco won the Golden Globe Award for The Disaster Artist, in early 2018. It was then that the #MeToo movement swept across Hollywood.The Associated Press doesn't usually identify those who claim they were sexually abused. However, they will often if they are open to it.Subscribe to our Entertainment newsletter. Subscribe to More to The Story to receive the context and information you need to enjoy the pop culture you love. Enter valid email address. * Your request was unsuccessful and timed out. Please sign up again. Sign up now! An error occurred during your registration. Please try again later. If you don't wish to receive promotional emails from TIME, please check the box. You may unsubscribe at anytime. Signing up means you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policies. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA. The Google Privacy Policy, Terms of Service and Terms of Service also apply. We are grateful! We have sent you a confirmation email for your security. To confirm your subscription, click the link and you will start receiving our newsletters. Please check your spam folder if you do not receive the confirmation in 10 minutes.Write to us at letters@time.com
