James Franco Drama School Accusers Give Scathing Response To His Statement

James Franco‘s drama school accusers have issued a scathing response to Franco’s recent statement regarding the misconduct allegations against him. Franco is an American actor, filmmaker, and writer best known for his roles in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Pineapple Express, and 2017’s The Disaster Artist, which he also directed. However, Franco’s success and his Academy Award win for The Disaster Artist coincided with multiple women coming forward with sexual misconduct allegations against him. The first accusation came in 2014 when a 17-year-old came forward with text messages showing how the actor had pursued her. In 2018, five more women came forward accusing him of sexual misconduct and exploitation while serving as their teacher and mentor within his acting school.

Throughout the years, Franco has mostly remained silent on the accusations and has taken a step back from the spotlight. He has continued to receive scrutiny for the allegations, and even his close friend and working partner, Seth Rogen, chose to dissociate with Franco. However, it seems that he is now trying to re-enter the public eye as he recently addressed the allegations on The Jess Cagle Podcast. In his statement, he admitted to sleeping with students and not understanding power dynamics. He also alluded to his addiction and the issues related to it that he has been dealing with and recovering from.

As reported by THR, Franco’s drama school accusers were unimpressed with his statement and have issued their own scathing response to it. Via their lawyer, the accusers expressed deep dissatisfaction with Franco’s continued ignorance towards the suffering he has caused his victims. The response attacked him for his “sham” of an acting school that he had no business starting and for downplaying the harm he has done. The statement warned others not to mistake the interview as Franco taking responsibility for, or apologizing for, his actions. Check out the statement below:

In addition to being blind about power dynamics, Franco is completely insensitive to, and still apparently does not care about, the immense pain and suffering he put his victims through with this sham of an acting school. It is unbelievable that even after agreeing to a settlement he continues to downplay the survivors’ experiences and ignore their pain, despite acknowledging he had no business starting such a school in the first place. Nobody should confuse this interview with Franco taking accountability for his actions or expressing remorse over what happened. It is a transparent ducking of the real issues released just before a major holiday in hopes that he wouldn’t face any scrutiny over his response.

Franco’s accusers do not mince words as they call out his attempt at re-entering the public eye. Sadly, most of what they point out about Franco’s statement is largely true. Franco’s statement was not an apology, but an attempt to downplay and deny his actions. While Franco did pay $2.2 million to settle the sexual misconduct lawsuits, he indicated in his interview that he did it simply because it was the “easiest thing to do.” Meanwhile, while he admits to luring his students to sleep with him, he expressed little remorse for doing so. Much of his interview was spent in denying and defending his actions and far too little included true apologies and remorse for those he had hurt.

The response to Franco’s statement is difficult to read as his victims’ pain shines through it. Their response also raised questions about how legitimate his acting school, Studio 4, was. This was a school that was supposed to be an opportunity for individuals who couldn’t afford elite drama schools. However, his victims now accuse Franco of opening the acting school for the purpose of having access to and the ability to harass and exploit vulnerable women. While the school was closed in 2017, it still raises concern that an actor could open and run a film school with so little supervision. Meanwhile, his downplaying of the incident and refusal to apologize certainly raises concerns for his attempt to re-enter the public and the industry. As for whether Franco is able to return to the industry largely depends on Hollywood and whether its inhabitants will choose to give him a platform once more or not. The statements from Franco‘s victims will be very important as society determines how to react to his return to the public.

Source: THR

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Rachel Ulatowski
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Rachel Ulatowski is a Freelance Movie/TV News Writer for Screen Rant. She works to bring readers the latest news on the shows and movies that are important to them. Rachel especially enjoys writing about celebrity news and sharing the thoughts, struggles, and perspective of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. In her free time she enjoys reading, writing, and watching anything Marvel, DC, Doctor Who, or Star Wars.

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