5 Actresses Accuse James Franco Of Sexual Exploitation

LOS ANGELES, CA — Just days after accepting a Golden Globe award for best actor, James Franco is facing a tide of allegations that he used his fame and prestige to sexually exploit young actresses at his North Hollywood acting school.

Five actresses told the Los Angeles Times Thursday that Franco used the school and promises of work to pressure them to take off their clothes or engage in sex acts. Often, the pressure occurred onset during filming, they said.

One actress said he exposed himself and pressured her to give him oral sex during a discussion about her script. Two others said that during an orgy scene with naked actresses, he removed the protective coverings for their vaginas while simulating oral sex.

Through his attorney, Franco denied the latest allegations. A spokesman for the now defunct school said the allegations are being investigated.

A Familiar Pattern

The allegations of sexual abuse against Franco Thursday followed a now all-too-familiar pattern.

One woman took to Twitter with allegations of sexual misconduct. Another echoed her experience.

Now five women are talking to reporters, telling similar stories of how professional opportunities turned uncomfortable, sexual, and confusing. They say Franco manipulated the imbalance created by his power and celebrity and their fledgling acting careers to pressure them into doing things they were uncomfortable with.

Several of the actresses were his students at Studio 4, the film school he launched in North Hollywood and New York.

“I feel there was an abuse of power, and there was a culture of exploiting non-celebrity women, and a culture of women being replaceable,” Sarah Tither-Kaplan, an acting student of Franco’s who opened the floodgates Sunday with a single outraged tweet after seeing Franco sporting a “Time’s Up" pin at the Golden Globes, told the Los Angeles Times.

According to Tither-Kaplan and one other actress, Franco filmed a nude orgy scene with several women a few years ago, and he removed plastic guards protecting their vaginas while simulating oral sex on them.

Franco publicly denied the initial allegations made on Twitter in an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

"Look, in my life, I pride myself in taking responsibility for the things I've done," said Franco. "I have to do that to maintain my well-being. The things I've heard on Twitter were not accurate, but I completely support people coming out and having a voice. I don't want to shut them down in any way."

Franco’s accusers allege he used his film school and the promise of acting jobs to urge women to take off their clothes on set. One woman said he exposed himself to her while they discussed a script she wrote and urged her to give him oral sex.

“I was talking to him, all of a sudden his penis was out,” 23-year-old Violet Paley told the Times. “I got really nervous, and I said, ‘Can we do this later?’ He was kind of nudging my head down, and I just didn’t want him to hate me, so I did it.”

Paley would go onto have a consensual sexual relationship with Franco, but she told the newspaper she thinks she would have handled the situation differently if it had happened after the Harvey Weinstein scandal.

“I would say, ‘No, stop, get out of my car,’” she said. “The power dynamic was really off.”

Who's Going Too Far?

Paley faced intense backlash for making the allegation against Franco.

“Oh shutup. U are all over the map. U said u didnt have a consensual relationship but now sayin u did,” wrote Twitter user Gu stav. “Ur credibility is lacking and u are hurting people who have actually truly been abused. Only peanut heads like u think idiotic accusations is a cool way 2 get back at someone.”

Several others took to social media to call Franco’s accusers liars who hurt genuine sexual abuse victims by claiming Franco’s behavior was sexual harassment. Because they aren’t alleging rape or explicit quid pro quo as in the case against Weinstein, several people criticized the women for speaking up.

Franco, who first became famous for his role in the tv show, “Freaks and Geeks,” has made a name for himself as an artist unafraid of taking risks with roles in “Milk” and most recently in the HBO drama “The Deuce.” He won a Golden Globe on Sunday for the "Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy" category for his portrayal of Tommy Wiseau in the movie, "This Disaster Artist."

Franco is the latest of countless powerful men in Hollywood accused of using their position to sexually exploit or assault young actresses. While the “Me Too” and “Time Is Up” movements have gained support from some of Hollywood’s biggest names, they also have their critics. This week some have attacked the “Me Too” movement, namely 100 French actresses who signed a letter to a French newspaper saying the movement has gone too far.

According to NPR, "The women said the #MeToo movement had become a witch hunt. They said violence should not be confused with seduction and that a man should have the right to hit on a woman — to steal a kiss or send a salacious text.”

Defenders of the movement responded by accusing the French actresses of “banalizing sexual violence,” NPR reported. The #MeToo movement isn't about criminalizing consenting relationships, they say. It's about abusers who go too far.

File Photo by: Galaxy/STAR MAX/IPx 2018 1/7/18 James Franco at the 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards. (Beverly Hills, CA)