James Franco accuser says he is 'not a Harvey Weinstein'

James Franco, Picture: Richard Showtell, AP

James Franco, Picture: Richard Showtell, AP

Published Jan 24, 2018

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Hollywood star James Franco has been accused of sexual misconduct by a number of pupils of his film school.

Now, one of James Franco's sexual harassment accusers insists the actor is "no Harvey Weinstein".

Sarah Tither-Kaplan has alleged that the 39-year-old actor abused his power and influence when teaching at his Studio 4 film school, where she studied, but she's also insisted that Franco's behaviour was markedly different to that of the Hollywood producer.

Appearing on 'Good Morning America', she explained: "James is absolutely not a Harvey Weinstein. He's not an unfeeling monster who has no sense of reality."

Four former students of Franco's school have recently accused him of sexual harassment.

And Tither-Kaplan has alleged that Franco's behaviour put her in an uncomfortable situation, because she didn't want to destroy her long-held career aspirations.

The actress shared: "Being an actor and working in this industry has been my dream since I was five or six, and I knew that coming forward with this was risking my career."

Tither-Kaplan has also reiterated her view that many other women at Franco's school felt similarly about the actor's conduct.

She explained: "There were a lot of scenes that were added after we were given the original scripts that I felt - I wished I had more time to consider them or understand the artistic value of them.

"A lot of times they seemed gratuitous or exploitative ... He created an exploitative environment on his sets."

Another of Franco's accusers, Violet Paley, was in a consensual relationship with the actor when he allegedly pressured her to perform oral sex on him.

She said: "He kinda like, pushed my head down and was saying, like, 'C'mon'. I am regretful. I was young. He was a celebrity I looked up to."

The duo first detailed their allegations against Franco in the Los Angeles Times newspaper earlier this month.

And Tither-Kaplan described the actor's decision to wear a pin in support of the Time's Up campaign to the Golden Globes as a "slap in my face".

The actress - who has appeared in several of Franco's productions - 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."

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