FILE - This Sept. 5, 2019 file photo shows James Franco at the premiere of HBO's "The Deuce" third and final season in New York. Two actresses have sued Franco and his former acting and film school, saying they were pushed into gratuitous and exploitative sexual situations as his students.  (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)
James Franco at the premiere of HBO's "The Deuce" third and final season in New York.
Associated Press
  • James Franco has agreed to pay $2,235,000 to settle a lawsuit brought against him.
  • The lawsuit was filed by former students of his now-shuttered acting school Studio 4.
  • The suit accused Franco and his associates of pushing students to perform explicit sex scenes on camera.
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Actor James Franco has agreed to pay $2,235,000 to settle a lawsuit in which he and his associates were accused of pushing students at his now-shuttered acting school Studio 4 to perform explicit sex scenes on camera.

The settlement was revealed in a court filing in Los Angeles Superior Court, and a judge still has to approve it, Deadline reported.

Two former students at Franco's school, Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, led the lawsuit in October 2020.

According to the filing, Franco and the other defendants, his business partners Jay Davis and Vince Jolivette, "deny any violations" despite the joint approval by both parties for approval of the settlement.

"Although Defendants contend they are not liable for any of the claims alleged, they have agreed to settle in the manner and upon the terms of the proposed Settlement Agreement."

In a lawsuit filed in 2019, Tither-Kaplan and Gaal alleged that Franco and his business partners "engaged in widespread inappropriate and sexually charged behavior towards female students by sexualizing their power as a teacher and an employer by dangling the opportunity for roles in their projects."

Their behavior, the lawsuit continues, "led to an environment of harassment and sexual exploitation both in and out of the class."

Tuition was $300 a month, but there were additional master classes offered that could cost up to $2,000. One of those master classes was on sex scenes and cost $740.

According to the lawsuit, which was obtained by The New York Times, students had to audition for the course by recording a video which was then sent to Franco to review. In doing so, they also said that they had to give up their rights to these recordings.

The draw, according to the lawsuit, was that students would be allowed exclusive rights to audition for roles in Franco's indie films, but it later turned out that the roles were open to other actors.

This is a developing story. Please check back for more updates.

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