James Franco reaches an agreement with several Plaintiffs for Sexual Harassment

A preliminary settlement was reached in a lawsuit accusing James Franco of intimidating female students at a film and acting school he founded with the intention of obtaining free sexual benefits and taking advantage of female students, according to the plaintiffs’ lawyers.

Both parties sent a joint status document to the Los Angeles Superior Court indicating to a judge that a settlement had been reached in the class action lawsuit filed by former students at the now closed school, Studio 4, although some aspects could be maintained.

The document was presented on February 11, although it was not disclosed before the pact.

Actresses and former students Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, who began the process in 2019, agreed to withdraw their particular allegations, according to the document.

Their lawsuit alleged that Franco pressured them to perform increasingly explicit sexual scenes on camera in an “orgy-like context” that went far beyond what was acceptable on Hollywood shootings.

He claimed that Franco “was trying to create a source of young women subjected to their sexual and professional exploitation in the name of education” and that he made the female students believe that there would be roles available in his films, for which they accepted his terms.

The lawsuit indicated that the incidents had occurred in a masterclass on sex scenes taught by Franco at Studio 4, which opened in 2014 and closed in 2017.

Both parties negotiated an agreement for months, and the judicial process was on hold while the dialogue continued. Attorneys for the plaintiffs, from the firm Valli Kane & Vagnini, LLP, confirmed to The Associated Press in a statement that a settlement had been produced.

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

In an earlier court document, Franco’s attorneys praised the #MeToo movement that helped inspire the lawsuit, although they struck down his allegations as “False and sensational, without legal basis and filed as a class action lawsuit with the obvious aim of hoarding as much publicity as possible for plaintiffs seeking care”.

They noted that Tither-Kaplan had in the past expressed appreciation for the opportunity to work with Franco.

Allegations of sexual exploitation of other plaintiffs in the process will be dismissed without prejudice, meaning they can be re-filed outside of the class action lawsuit, the joint report said.

The document does not reveal how much money it could have included in the settlement. In an interview on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” following the filing of the lawsuit in 2018, Franco said the allegations against him were inaccurate, though he added: “If I’ve done something wrong, I’ll fix it. I must do it”.

Franco, 42, known primarily for starring in comedies with Seth Rogen, has maintained a generally low profile since the allegations emerged in what was a very productive period for the actor, culminating in the award-winning “The Disaster Artist.”