James Franco Reveals Major Career News After His Scandal
James Franco quietly stepped away from acting after being accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women. Franco taught students at the film and acting school he founded, Studio 4, which had locations in both New York City and Los Angeles. In a 2018 interview with the Los Angeles Times, five women accused Franco of inappropriate behavior or sexual misconduct. While one of the women alleged he was her mentor, the other four women were his students.
One of the four female students, Sarah Tither-Kaplan, said, "I feel there was an abuse of power, and there was a culture of exploiting non-celebrity women, and a culture of women being replaceable." Hilary Dusome also spoke out about Franco's behavior in the classroom. She revealed that her experience as his student started out positive, but shifted to uncomfortable, stating, "I don't think he started teaching with bad intentions, but he went down a bad path and damaged a lot of people in the process."
During an appearance on "The Jess Cagle Podcast" in 2021, Franco finally broke his silence about the allegations (via the Washington Post). He did admit to sleeping with some of his students, but claimed that it was consensual. Franco also denied some of the victims' claims about inappropriate on-set behavior, but did admit to having a previous sex addiction per People. It was unclear if he would ever return to the big screen again. However, Franco has some big career news after nearly four years of a hiatus from the industry.
James Franco will make his return to acting
James Franco will attempt to make an acting comeback as he's been cast in a new film, "Me, You," according to The Hollywood Reporter. Directed by Bille August, the movie is a post-WWII drama with production set to begin in September — Franco will play one of its lead roles. Actors Tom Hollander and Daisy Jacob will work alongside Franco for the project. It's been quite some time since Franco has been seen on screens. His last role was in "Arctic Dogs" in 2019, according to IMDb, but he now has multiple projects in the works. Franco will also star in "Mace," an action thriller directed by Jon Amiel.
In a statement, via People, Franco shared his excitement about returning to acting for "Me, You," saying, "I am excited to board this phenomenal project and to be working with the legendary Bille August," he continued, "I'm a huge fan of his work, and "Me, You" is a truly brilliant script."
This role marks Franco's major return to acting after a series of sexual misconduct allegations from his former students. While the actor did deny some of the claims, he did reach an agreement in court with two of the victims last year. Franco agreed to pay over $2.2 million to Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, two students who accused him of sexual misconduct, according to People, with part of the settlement going to other students who accused Franco.