Actor James Franco and his co-defendants will pay $2.2 million after settling a lawsuit alleging he intimidated students into performing explicit scenes at his acting school, according to The Associated Press (AP).
The two sides agreed to a deal in February, but the dollar amount had not been revealed until court filings were released Wednesday. Non-monetary terms were also part of the settlement, but they have not been made public, The AP reported.
Franco’s ex-students Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal alleged that Franco’s school, Studio 4, coerced students into performing explicit sexual scenes on camera. They filed the lawsuit in October 2019, according to The AP. (RELATED: Seth Rogan Says He Has No Plans Of Working With James Franco In The Future After Allegations Of Misconduct)
Kaplan came forward with her accusations after Franco won a Golden Globe in 2018.
Hey James Franco, nice #timesup pin at the #GoldenGlobes , remember a few weeks ago when you told me the full nudity you had me do in two of your movies for $100/day wasn’t exploitative because I signed a contract to do it? Times up on that!
— Sarah Tither-Kaplan (@sarahtk) January 8, 2018
Both sides gave a joint statement. “While Defendants continue to deny the allegations in the Complaint, they acknowledge that Plaintiffs have raised important issues; and all parties strongly believe that now is a critical time to focus on addressing the mistreatment of women in Hollywood,” the statement read, According to the AP. “All agree on the need to make sure that no one in the entertainment industry — regardless of sex, race, religion, disability, ethnicity, background, gender or sexual orientation — faces discrimination, harassment or prejudice of any kind.”
The lawsuit claimed that Franco “sought to create a pipeline of young women who were subjected to his personal and professional sexual exploitation in the name of education.” It also alleged that students were led to believe they would have a chance to be in Franco’s films if they took part in the scenes, The AP reported.