Five women accuse James Franco of inappropriate behavior

Five women have reportedly accused actor and director James Franco of sexual misconduct, with four of them alleging that he behaved inappropriately with them when they were students in his acting classes.

The women recounted their experiences as students at Franco’s Studio 4 film school, telling the Los Angeles Times that they felt he exploited them or asked them do things that made them uncomfortable.

Franco, who has starred in “The Disaster Artist,” “127 Hours” and “Pineapple Express,” launched the film school in 2014, teaching aspiring actors and filmmakers.

{mosads}Two women alleged Franco asked them to take their shirts off during what they were told was a shoot for a jeans commercial, then stormed off when they declined.

Another woman, Katie Ryan, claimed Franco requested she audition for role as a “prostitute or hooker.”

Sarah Tither-Kaplan alleged that she created a short film for one of Franco’s classes that included nudity. The video was uploaded to Vimeo and later put on a pornography website, Tither-Kaplan said.

“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,” Tither-Kaplan told the L.A. Times.

Franco’s lawyer, Michael Plonsker, disputed the women’s claims.

Franco wore a “Time’s Up” pin at the Golden Globes in solidarity with the movement launched by several women in the entertainment industry to combat systemic sexual harassment. When he appeared on stage to accept an award, multiple women said on social media that Franco had acted inappropriately with them. 

In the wake of the social media backlash, The New York Times canceled an event with the actor.

Franco has appeared on late-night talk shows this week and denied the allegations.

“The things that I heard on Twitter are not accurate. 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,” Franco said Tuesday on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” 

Franco reiterated the same message during an appearance Wednesday on “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” hours before the Times piece was published.