James Franco comes to terms with the process of sexual exploitation

Angels. A preliminary settlement was reached in a lawsuit that accused James Franco of intimidating students at a film and acting school he set up to get free sex and who took advantage of the students, they announced on Saturday. plaintiffs’ lawyers.

Both sides presented a joint state document to the Los Angeles Superior Court, telling a judge that a solution had been reached in the class action lawsuit filed by former students at the now-closed school, Studio 4, although some aspects of the process could be confirmed. .

The document was presented on February 11, although it had not been reported before the pact.

Actresses and former students Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, who began the trial in 2019, have agreed to withdraw their private accusations, according to the document. Their lawsuit alleges that Franco pressured his students to perform increasingly explicit sex scenes in the camera in an “orgy-like context” that went far beyond what was acceptable in Hollywood filming.

It has been argued that Franco is “trying to create a source of young women who are sexually and professionally exploited in the name of education” and that students have been led to believe that the roles will be available in Franco’s films for which they have accepted his mandate.

The trial showed that the incidents took place in a master class on sex scenes taught by Franco at Studio 4, which opened in 2014 and closed in 2017.

Both sides negotiated an agreement for months, and the trial was suspended while the dialogue continued.

The plaintiffs’ lawyers, from Valli Kane & Vagnini, LLP, confirmed on Saturday evening in an Associated Press statement that an agreement had been reached.

Emails sent out of office hours to defense attorneys received no response at first.

In a previous court document, Franco’s lawyers praised the #MeToo movement that helped inspire the lawsuit, although they dismissed his allegations as “false and sensational, without legal basis and filed as a collective action lawsuit with the obvious goal of accumulate as much publicity as possible for some applicants seeking attention ”. They noticed that Tither-Kaplan expressed his appreciation in the past for the opportunity to work with Franco.

The allegations of sexual exploitation of other plaintiffs in the process will be rejected without prejudice, which means that they can be re-filed outside the class action process, the joint report states.

The document did not disclose how much money could have been included in the agreement.

In an interview with “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” following the trial in 2018, Franco said that the accusations against him were inaccurate, although he added: “If I did something wrong, I will fix it. I have to do it. “

Franco, 42, best known for starring in comedies with Seth Rogen, has kept his overall profile low, as the allegations came at a very productive time for the actor, culminating in the award-winning “The Disaster Artist.”