Ex-acting students claim James Franco sexually exploited them

Two actresses have sued Oscar winner James Franco, saying they were pushed into exploitative sexual situations as his acting students.

Accused pervert James Franco’s now-defunct film school doubled as a hunting ground for the Oscar winner and his pals to prey on young aspiring actresses, according to a sexual harassment lawsuit filed on Thursday.

Franco, 41, and other instructors at Studio 4 pressured women to get naked for auditions, while dangling opportunities for movie roles that rarely materialised, ex-students Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal allege in their Los Angeles County Superior Court lawsuit.

By engaging in “widespread inappropriate and sexually charged behaviour towards female students”, Franco created “an environment of harassment and sexual exploitation” at the school, claims the suit, reported by The New York Times.

Tither-Kaplan first came forward to accuse The Deuce star of sexual misconduct in a bombshell January 2018 Los Angeles Times report, which included allegations from four other women, including three who were former students.

James Franco takes a selfie for his Instagram page, which has been deleted. Picture: Instagram

In that report and in the lawsuit, Tither-Kaplan, 27, claimed that while filming an orgy scene for a project at the school, Franco removed protective plastic guards covering the actresses’ vaginas and simulated oral sex on the women.

The school, which closed in 2017, offered a $US750 master class for sex scenes, which women auditioned for on videotapes Franco reviewed — and had to sign away their rights to the recordings, according to the suit.

During the class, “often young and inexperienced females” were preyed upon and “routinely pressured to engage in simulated sex acts that went far beyond the standards in the industry”, the lawsuit alleges.

The women are seeking unspecified monetary damages and for any tapes of former students to be destroyed. They’re also seeking class-action status so other women can join their lawsuit.

Franco has a long history of sexual misconduct allegations.

He made headlines in 2014 for trying to get a 17-year-old girl to meet him at his New York hotel via Instagram.

After the LA Times report was published, Franco was roundly criticised for appearing at the Golden Globes wearing a pin in support of the Time’s Up movement to combat sexual misconduct in Hollywood.

Franco at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards wearing a Time’s Up pin. Picture: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

In a January 2018 interview on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Franco said he was willing to make amends.

“If there’s restitution to be made, I will make it. I’m here to listen and learn and change my perspective where it’s off,” he said.

Reps for Franco didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission