--- description: Five women accused James Franco of sexually inappropriate behavior, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times. title: 5 Women Accuse James Franco of Sexually Inappropriate Behavior image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc99e4227bd8617e1/6988f7e886f68ee78b6e7dd7/james-franco.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Hollywood](/tag/hollywood/) ## Hollywood Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 5 Women Accuse James Franco of Sexually Inappropriate Behavior  by [Samantha Cooney](/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 12, 2023 10:58 PM CUTPublished: Jan 11, 2018 2:59 PM CUT  Actor James Franco attends FIJI Water at HFPA’s Official Viewing and After-Party at the Wilshire Garden inside The Beverly Hilton on January 7, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. Actor James Franco attends FIJI Water at HFPA’s Official Viewing and After-Party at the Wilshire Garden inside The Beverly Hilton on January 7, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California.Stefanie Keenan—Getty Images for FIJI Water  by [Samantha Cooney](/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 12, 2023 10:58 PM CUTPublished: Jan 11, 2018 2:59 PM CUT Five women have accused [James Franco](http://time.com/5096550/nyt-james-franco-event-canceled/ "undefined") of inappropriate behavior, according to a [new report](http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-james-franco-allegations-20180111-htmlstory.html "undefined") in the Los Angeles _Times._ Four of the women who came forward were Franco’s students. Two of the women, [Violet Paley](https://twitter.com/VioletPaley/status/950252181965410304 "undefined") and [Sarah Tither-Kaplan](https://twitter.com/sarahtk/status/950165990213496832?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref%5Furl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.latimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fhollywood%2Fla-fi-ct-james-franco-allegations-20180111-htmlstory.html "undefined"), first went public with their allegations on Twitter after the [Golden Globes](http://time.com/5095804/golden-globes-red-carpet-me-too/ "undefined"). Franco [was criticized ](http://time.com/5092936/james-franco-golden-globes-2018/ "undefined")after he wore a pin to the awards ceremony in support of [“Time’s Up,”](http://time.com/5091793/golden-globes-times-up-pin-red-carpet-men/ "undefined") a [movement](http://time.com/5083809/times-up-hollywood-sexual-harassment/ "undefined") launched by Hollywood women to combat sexual harassment and gender inequality. Franco’s attorney denied all of the allegations of misbehavior, according to the _Times_. His attorney did not immediately respond to TIME’s request for comment. In an interview with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night, Franco [said the allegations](http://time.com/5096701/james-franco-stephen-colbert-golden-globes/ "undefined") made by Paley and Tither-Kaplan on Twitter “are not accurate.” Franco has taught aspiring actors and filmmakers at Playhouse West in Hollywood and Studio 4, a film school he launched in Los Angeles and New York in 2014\. Former students at both Playhouse West and Studio 4, which closed last fall, told the _Times_ that the actor asked them to take off their shirts. Tither-Kaplan, a former Franco student, told the paper that while she was filming an orgy scene with Franco, he removed a protective plastic guard from other actors while he was simulating oral sex on them. Paley, who was not one of Franco’s former students, told the _Times_ she began a romantic relationship with Franco in early 2016 after he said he would help her with a script she had written. She said that, at one point in their relationship, he pressured her to perform oral sex on him. > [](https://twitter.com/VioletPaley/status/950252181965410304) Paley’s second comment about a 17-year-old refers to a 2014 incident in which Franco [connected on Instagram](http://gawker.com/james-franco-tried-to-hook-up-with-a-17-year-old-on-ins-1557491436 "undefined") with a fan he had met outside his Broadway show, _Of Mice and Men_. The woman told him online that she was “nearly 18,” and Franco allegedly asked her: “Should I rent a room?” In an interview on _Live! With Kelly and Michael_ in April 2014, Franco [expressed regret](http://ew.com/article/2014/04/04/james-franco-instagram-teenager/ "undefined") about the incident. “I’m embarrassed, and I guess I’m just a model of how social media is tricky,” Franco said. “It’s a way people meet each other today, but what I’ve learned is you don’t know who’s on the other end. I used bad judgement and I learned my lesson.” Franco, who has been promoting his latest film _The Disaster Artist_ on the awards circuit, is the latest high-profile Hollywood man to be [accused of misconduct](http://time.com/5015204/harvey-weinstein-scandal/ "undefined") in the wake of [dozens of allegations against mogul Harvey Weinstein](http://time.com/4979258/harvey-weinstein-what-happens-next/ "undefined"). **Correction:** The original version of this story misstated Tither-Kaplan’s accusation of inappropriate behavior against Franco. She said she witnessed Franco remove protective guards from other actors during a simulated oral sex scene that was being filmed; she did not accuse him of doing this to her. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5098569/james-franco-women-accuse/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5098569/james-franco-women-accuse/"},"headline":"5 Women Accuse James Franco of Sexually Inappropriate Behavior","datePublished":"2018-01-11T14:59:52.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T22:58:54.000Z","description":"The actor denies the allegations","url":"https://time.com/5098569/james-franco-women-accuse/","keywords":["Hollywood","james franco","film","sexual misconduct"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc99e4227bd8617e1/6988f7e886f68ee78b6e7dd7/james-franco.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Cooney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc99e4227bd8617e1/6988f7e886f68ee78b6e7dd7/james-franco.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"FIJI Water at the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards Celebration","caption":"FIJI Water at the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards Celebration","creditText":"Stefanie Keenan—Getty Images for FIJI Water","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/hollywood/","name":"Hollywood"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5098569/james-franco-women-accuse/","name":"5 Women Accuse James Franco of Sexually Inappropriate Behavior"}}]}] ```