"That Was Wrong": James Franco Admits Sleeping With Students From Acting School

Actor and writer James Franco has admitted to sleeping with students from his acting school months after a case of sexual misconduct against him was settled. #MeToo allegations emerged against Franco in 2018 as the movement swept Hollywood. Women who attended his now-defunct acting school came forward alleging inappropriate behaviour from Franco while he was teaching them.

Since dismissing the allegations as "not accurate" at the time, Franco has largely been absent from public view.

Recently appearing on The Jess Cagle Podcast, 43-year-old Franco opened up on the #MeToo complaints against him, admitting he "did sleep with students, and that was wrong."

"I suppose at the time, my thinking was if it's consensual, OK... At the time I was not clearheaded," he added. He claims he was "doing a lot of work" and changing who he was after the allegations surfaced. He further said he has been in recovery from sex addiction since 2016.

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The #MeToo movement first hit Franco in 2018 when he took to the stage at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards, with actor Ally Sheedy made cryptic indications on social media that she had left the film business because of him. That prompted other women to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Franco, who at the time, was peaking in his career with a critically acclaimed performance in The Disaster Artist. 

That year, at least five women were reported to have accused Franco of sexually charged inappropriate behaviour during the time he was their acting teacher. A year later, Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, mentees of Franco from his Studio 4 school, filed a lawsuit against him and others alleging "orgy type" settings in his classes.

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They alleged Franco tried to "create a pipeline of young women" for sexual exploitation. In February this year, the $2.2 million sexual misconduct lawsuit was settled in Los Angeles, with the women complainants agreeing to drop their allegations. Read here.

In the podcast that aired Wednesday, Franco's statements were notably the first extended ones on the matter since 2019. He said he did not set up Studio 4 to lure women in for his sexual purposes and that he had remained silent on the issue for so long because people were upset and he "needed to listen."

Appearing on a talk show soon after #MeToo allegations against him in 2018, Franco had ">said, "The things I heard are not accurate, but I completely support people coming out because they didn’t have a voice for so long. I don’t want to shut them down in any way. I think it's a good thing and I support it."