James Franco's Troubling Behavior: Are We Finally Paying Attention?
Two actresses, Toni Gaal and Sarah Tither-Kaplan, have filed a lawsuit against James Franco, accusing him of s**ual exploitation and fraud.
They claim that Franco's now-defunct acting company was nothing more than a scam to give him and his male colleagues unrestricted access to young female performers.
The lawsuit, filed on Thursday, alleges that Franco and his business partners engaged in inappropriate and s**ually charged behavior towards female students.
They used their positions as teachers and employers to exploit these women by offering them roles in their projects.
This created an environment of harassment and s**ual exploitation both inside and outside the class.
Both Gaal and Tither-Kaplan were students at Franco's Studio 4 film and acting class, which was opened by Franco in 2014 but has since closed down.
Tither-Kaplan's lawyers described the school as a “casting class,” implying that Franco took advantage of his position of power.
While these allegations are shocking, they are not entirely surprising.
Rumors and accusations about Franco's inappropriate behavior have circulated for years, even during the #MeToo movement.
Perhaps it is time that we start taking these claims seriously.
In 2018, Franco attended the Golden Globes with a Time's Up pin on his lapel and received recognition for his role in the comedy film The Disaster Artist.
Ironically, shortly after this event, Tither-Kaplan and four other women came forward in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, accusing Franco of s**ually exploitative behavior.
They shared uncomfortable experiences they had in class and on set, including an incident where Franco became visibly angry when they refused to remove their tops for a shoot.
Actress Ally Sheedy, who had worked with Franco on the off-Broadway play The Long Shrift, also voiced her concerns about his behavior on Twitter during the same Golden Globes ceremony.
She wrote, “James Franco just won.
Please never ever ask me why I left the film/tv business.”
Franco's disturbing behavior goes back even further, with a documented incident in 2014.
At that time, a 17-year-old fan received messages from Franco on Instagram, asking if she had a boyfriend and if she was over 18.
Despite learning her age, Franco still tried to persuade her to come to a hotel room.
When confronted, Franco attributed his actions to bad judgment, blaming the pitfalls of social media.
Franco has not yet commented on the recent lawsuit, but he did address the initial accusations in 2018.
He stated that if there was restitution to be made, he would do it and expressed a willingness to learn and change his perspective.
However, Tither-Kaplan asserts that she has not seen any meaningful restitution from Franco since she first spoke out two years ago.
“I can't sleep at night knowing that my original coming forward didn't achieve the change I hoped for.
There has been no public action that shows me these people acknowledge their wrongdoing and understand its harmful impact,” Tither-Kaplan said.
This latest lawsuit raises serious questions about James Franco's behavior and calls for a reevaluation of how society responds to allegations of s**ual exploitation in the entertainment industry.
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