James Franco Accused Of Downplaying Survivors' Experiences Amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations

Two of James Franco's accusers have claimed the actor "continues to downplay survivors' experiences" and "ignore their pain." This comes after the 43-year-old star addressed the sexual misconduct allegations thrown at him.

Five women accused the actor of sexually inappropriate behavior in 2018. Two of his former students in the acting school he co-owned — Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal — filed a lawsuit against him in 2019. Franco refused to speak on the matter until this week when he sat down for an interview on SiriusXM's "The Jess Cagle Podcast."

During his guesting, the actor admitted to sleeping with students in the school. However, he said he thought of the encounters as consensual despite the imbalance of power. He also opened up about his sexual addiction.

Moreover, Franco confessed that he "cheated on everyone" prior to his relationship with his current girlfriend, Isabel Pakzad. He said he became "completely blind to power dynamics or anything like that, but also completely blind to people's feelings." Yet, the celebrity insisted that he "didn't want to hurt people."

"In fact, I wasn't really a one-night-stand guy. People that I got together with or dated, I'd see them for a long time, years. It's just that I couldn't be present for any of them. And the behavior spun out to a point where it was like I was hurting everybody," he explained.

His interview didn't go well with Tither-Kaplan and Gaal.

The two women agreed to drop their individual claims earlier this year as a part of a settlement deal under which Franco agreed to pay $2,235,000. But according to a statement obtained by People, attorneys representing Tither-Kaplan and Gaal slammed Franco's statements following the settlement.

"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," the statement read as per the outlet.

"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."

"This wasn't a misunderstanding over a course name, it wasn't the result of him being overworked — it was, and is despicable conduct," the statement continued. "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."