James Franco Has Reached A $2.2 Million Settlement Agreement In His Sexual Misconduct Class Action Suit
What a great week for alleged sexual predators! What am I saying, it’s almost always a great week for them, but Bill Cosby having his conviction overturned feels like an especially big win. Another alleged predator, James Franco, also saw a positive outcome this week regarding the class-action lawsuit brought against him by former students of his Studio 4 acting school. NBC News reports that James has agreed to a settlement payment of $2.2 million. What a relief that must be for him! I bet there is no feeling in the world as good as the feeling you get when you cash out an old IRA you’d forgotten all about and poof! — all your legal troubles go away. James is probably gonna sleep like a fucking baby tonight.
You, not so much. As you’ll recall, two of his accusers, Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, claimed that they, and others, “were coerced into filming overt sexual acts by Franco and his partners” when they were enrolled in Studio 4, which ran from 2014 through 2017. NBC News reports:
It accused the respondents of seeking to “sexualize their power and fame by dangling the opportunity to aspiring actors of employment in film and television in exchange for explicit nudity, sex and as Franco put it, the “pushing of boundaries'” at Studio 4.
Their suit had described his acting school as “fraudulent.” Franco closed Studio 4 in 2017.
In a filing dated June 24, but made public Wednesday, the plaintiffs’ legal teams proposed terms of the $2.2 million settlement to a Los Angeles judge, who still has to approve the deal.
The proposed settlement includes language that would release claims by all parties, while Franco and the other defendants continue to deny the allegations.
The AP adds that “the lawsuit also names Franco’s production company Rabbit Bandini and his partners including Vince Jolivette and Jay Davis as defendants.” So James is probably barely even out of pocket for his personal share of the $2.2 million. He could probably cover those costs by commissioning Seth Rogen to sell a couple of vases for him. When the suit was first filed, James (through his attorney) vowed he would “seek damages from the plaintiffs and their attorneys for filing this scurrilous publicity-seeking lawsuit.” But he’s since softened his stance on that a bit. Not because he was, in fact, very, very guilty, but because he’s a cool guy who gets it.
While Defendants continue to deny the allegations in the complaint, they acknowledge that Plaintiffs have raised important issues; and all parties strongly believe that now is a critical time to focus on address the mistreatment of women in Hollywood,” a joint statement issued Wednesday on behalf of the former students and Franco said.
“All agree on the need to make sure that no one in the entertainment industry — regardless of sex, race, religion, disability, ethnicity, background, gender or sexual orientation — faces discrimination, harassment or prejudice of any kind.”
Just under $1 million of the payment goes to the named plaintiffs, and just over $1 million goes to a “common fund” to settle additional claims that might be pursued by other members of the class action.
Look at that, high-minded and generous to boot? James will surely be making this world a better place through his ART in no time. But moving forward, ladies, please keep your titties to yourself! James’ career and pocketbook can probably only withstand 5 or 6 more sexual misconduct lawsuits before they start really taking a hit.
Pic: Wenn.com