James Franco is being sued by two former students, who have claimed they were sexually exploited by his acting school.
The school, which was called Playhouse West Studio 4, closed back in 2017.
According to The New York Times, Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal have filed a lawsuit claiming they were pushed into taking part in explicit sex scenes “that went far beyond the standards in the industry”.
They also alleged that James and his business partners “engaged in widespread inappropriate and sexually charged behaviour towards female students by sexualising their power as a teacher and an employer by dangling the opportunity for roles in their projects.”
In response to the lawsuit, James’ attorney Michael Plonsker said: “This is not the first time that these claims have been made and they have already been debunked.”
“We have not had an opportunity to review the ill-informed Complaint in depth since it was leaked to the press before it was filed and our client has yet to even be served.
“James will not only fully defend himself, but will also seek damages from the plaintiffs and their attorneys for filing this scurrilous publicity seeking lawsuit.”
Sarah Tither-Kaplan was one of the five women who accused James of sexual misconduct last year, in an exposé published by the Los Angeles Times.
At the time, the actor vehemently denied the accusations made against him.
