In 2019, two alumni of the now defunct James Franco acting school accused him and his partners in organizing using the school as “little more than a scheme to provide him and his male collaborators with a pool of young performers that they could take advantage of.” They filed a class action lawsuit against Franco and others involved in the school, claiming that Franco and his partner Vince Jolivette “engaged in inappropriate and sexually charged behavior towards female students, sexualizing their power as a teacher and employer by rocking the opportunity for roles in their projects. ”Among the accusations was that one of the classes offered at Franco’s school was specifically built around sex scenes, for which future students had to audition on camera, with Franco allegedly keeping the videos on file and asking students to assign their rights to them. One of the accusers, who was in this class, said Franco once “removed students’ protective clothing before simulating oral sex with them as part of a orgy scene “.
Now, according The Hollywood Reporter, the accusers agreed to drop the action after reaching an agreement of some kind, although any details beyond that have not been made public. These details include “how much money can be involved in the business”, but THR says the information will be submitted for court approval in March. THR also points out that Franco hasn’t done much since the lawsuit was filed, coming from a few years when he was practically inevitable both on TV and at the box office, so it looks like this process had an impact on him career (even if it was just he decided to leave public eye for a while).