James Franco Finally Addresses Sexual Misconduct Allegations despite Once Slamming 'White Male Heroes' Accused of Harrasment

For the first time in four years, actor James Franco has publicly addressed the allegations against him about sexual misconduct and explained why he was only speaking out now.

James Franco appeared on SiriusXM recently and discussed the sexual accusations against him after nearly four years. He recalled when the news first surfaced in January 2018:

“In 2018, there were some complaints about me and an article about me. At that moment, I just thought, I’m going to be quiet. It did not seem like the right time to say anything.”

SPEAKING OUT NOW

Franco continued to say that people were upset with him, so he needed to listen. He added that he had been working on himself because he suffers from sex addiction; hence, it took so long to address the scandalous case.

The 43-year-old filmmaker was accused of sexually inappropriate behavior by five different women, four of whom were his acting students.

That same month, one of the alleged victims, Sarah Tither-Kaplan, revealed that Franco "abused his power" by exploiting the women under the guise of giving them opportunities.

FRANCO'S ATTORNEY DENIES THE ALLEGATIONS

At the time, Franco’s attorney denied each of the allegations and cited his comments on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” as his formal denial:

“The things that I heard that were on Twitter are not accurate, but I completely support people coming out and being able to have a voice."

BEING SUED BY HIS ACCUSERS

In October 2019, his accusers Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal sued him and alleged in their lawsuit that Franco, along with his partners, "engaged in widespread inappropriate and sexually charged behavior" towards the female students.

Franco's lawyer denied their allegations, once again calling it a "publicity-seeking lawsuit." The matter ended up in a million-dollar settlement.

SETTLING THE MATTER

The "Spider-Man" star and his associates agreed to pay $2.2 million to settle the class-action lawsuit. Franco and other defendants had to fork out $894,000 for the exploitation claims, including a one-third allotment for their attorney's fees.

They also had to pay $1.341 million to two class funds, and the parties also agreed on additional "non-economic relief." Still, they requested to present them to the judge confidentially.

HOLLYWOOD SCANDALS

Franco and his once closest work friend Seth Rogen were interviewed together in November 2017. The topic of sexual allegations rife in Hollywood came up during the interview.

When asked what men in power can do to make work environments healthier for women, Rogen said they could start by hiring more women and shared having men writing women roles was not the solution. Meanwhile, Franco noted:

"I get bored of the same old stuff of white male heroes. As a producer, I'm just looking for projects that don't have that."

NON-EXISTENT FRIENDSHIP

In his recent interview, Franco revealed that Rogen, 39, distanced himself professionally from him because of the accusations. The "Homefront" star shared he worked with the Canadian native for twenty years and that not one time did they butt heads.

Franco said Rogen was asked about him and had to answer for him while he remained silent on the scandal, and so he decided to come forward to avoid putting him in the hot seat any longer. The pair are no longer working together and have no plans to.