Ace filmmaker/actor James Franco has been accused of pressuring his acting school students to get naked for auditions while he dangled promises of movie roles.
Two former students, Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, have filed the legal complaint in Los Angeles County Superior Court. They have alleged that Franco and his partners engaged in widespread inappropriate and sexually charged behavior towards female students by sexualizing their power as a teacher and an employer by dangling the opportunity for roles in their projects, New York Times reported.
These allegations first arose back in January 2018, with five women coming forward to say that they felt Franco had abused his power and behaved inappropriately while mentoring them. Franco's publicist did not immediately respond to the allegations but he has previously called similar allegations inaccurate.
Franco and his business partner Vince Jolivette opened the Studio 4 school in 2014, with branches in New York and Los Angeles.
Jolivette has 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.
The actor is known for his roles in ‘127 Hours’, or which he was also nominated for The Academy Awards, 'Spiderman', ‘Eat, Pray and Love’, ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ among many others.