LOS ANGELES • James Franco is not a class act, said two women who filed a civil lawsuit against the Hollywood actor on Thursday.
They are accusing him of running a bogus film school where young women, eager to advance their acting careers, were duped into auditioning nude or shooting explicit sex scenes.
The lawsuit, filed in a Los Angeles court, accuses the 41-year-old, Oscar-nominated actor, now starring in HBO television series The Deuce, of exploiting aspiring actors at his now-defunct school.
According to the lawsuit, the two women, actresses Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, enrolled in Franco's film school in 2014.
They accuse him and two other men associated with his production company and school of sex discrimination, sexual harassment, fraud and other wrongdoing.
"Franco's targets were even duped to pay for their exploitation through a fraudulent 'acting school' (Studio 4) designed to benefit Franco and his production companies," the suit said.
It noted that "employment opportunities for women supposedly increased when they agreed to overt sexual acts, nudity and performing in sex scenes".
Students were encouraged to pay US$750 (S$1,035) to join a sex-scenes masterclass and had to audition nude or partially nude, the lawsuit noRead More – Source
