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."
James Franco accuser says he is ‘not a Harvey Weinstein’
