Remember, this is all over allegations that he like paid actresses to be strippers and demonstrated sex in his "sex and acting" class that people paid money to go to.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4083960&forum_id=2#36864264)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/james-francos-acting-students-allege-sexual-exploitation/ar-AAIfCGQ?ocid=spartanntp

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4083960&forum_id=2#38925524)

Through his studio Rabbit Bandini Productions and its "fraudulent" school Rabbit Bandini Studio 4, Franco and his partners promised to further women's careers if they agreed to "overt sexual acts, nudity and performing in sex scenes — often in an orgy type setting," former students Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal said in their 34-page complaint lodged in California state court.

"While James Franco touted that one difference between Studio 4 and other acting schools was its ability to funnel promising talent into his projects, the reality was that he was looking to create a pipeline of young women who were subjected to his personal and professional sexual exploitation in the name of education," the women said.

They're alleging sex discrimination, sexual harassment, misleading advertising, fraud, false promise and breach of contract, among other claims.

Franco couldn't be immediately reached for comment late Thursday, and Rabbit Bandini didn't immediately return a request for comment.

James Vagnini, counsel for the plaintiffs, told Law360 on Thursday that his clients' allegations aren't new. But since they first came to light more than a year and a half ago, Franco hasn't been held accountable, he said.

"The primary goal and focus of this is awareness," Vagnini said. "It saddens everyone that he was almost going to get away with it."

Tither-Kaplan, along with several other women, went public with her claims in January 2018 after Franco wore a "Time's Up" pin to the Golden Globes. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times following the award ceremony, Tither-Kaplan said seeing Franco wearing the pin "was like a slap in my face."

In describing Franco's school, Tither-Kaplan told the Times, "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."

Franco addressed the accusations during an interview in January 2018 on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert."

"The things that I heard that were on Twitter are not accurate," Franco said at the time. "But I completely support people coming out and being able to have a voice because they didn't have a voice for so long. So I don't want to shut them down in any way."

"If I have done something wrong, I will fix it," he said. "I have to."

Thursday's complaint opens by quoting Franco's promise and slamming him for his "sexually hostile, predatory and exploitative history."

"The truth is that James Franco and the other defendants have committed egregious wrongs to hundreds of student actors and have done nothing to fix it," Tither-Kaplan and Gaal said.

Vagnini said his clients both attempted to work out their issues with Franco prior to filing the suit. "After his public statements, we were surprised he didn't live up to his word," he said.

The proposed class the women hope to represent includes at least 100 women and 500 total students who passed through the doors of the school's Los Angeles and New York locations in the approximately two years it operated, according to Vagnini. The school closed in fall 2017.

Specifically, Franco, his business partner Vince Jolivette and Rabbit Bandini's General Manager Jay Davis forced all student talent to sign over their rights to explicit nude and sex scene auditions and filming, the women said Thursday. The students were told Franco wanted to "personally review" each audition and scene himself, but they later learned the "explicit footage would be stored, maintained and used by defendants at their will."

Franco duped students into believing they could get roles in legitimate productions, but the majority of actual roles typically went to nonstudents or "young, attractive women who acquiesced to the extreme requests of defendants," according to the suit.

"Defendants, in concert, set out to commit a scheme to defraud unsuspecting aspiring actors and to create a steady stream of young women to objectify and exploit," the women said.

They're after damages, attorney fees and court costs, reimbursement for their tuition and "a public apology" from Franco, Jolivette and Davis. They also want a court to order the defendants to return and/or destroy all recordings of class members and to have them participate in a National Women's Law Center sexual harassment and sensitivity training.

"We still hope that he will live up to his word," Vagnini said. "He did something wrong and we expect him to do the right thing."

Jolivette and Davis couldn't be immediately reached for comment late Thursday.

The women are represented by Dan Stormer and Tanya Sukhija-Cohen of Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai LLP and James A. Vagnini, Sara Wyn Kane and Monica Hincken of Valli Kane & Vagnini LLP.

Counsel information for the defendants wasn't immediately available Thursday.

The case is Tither-Kaplan et al. v. Franco et al., case number 19STCV35156, in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4083960&forum_id=2#38928493)