James Franco Talks Up His Return to Big Screen After Sexual Misconduct Accusations

In 2018, five women accused once-Hollywood darling James Franco of sexual misconduct, prompting him to take a break from acting. Now, Franco is returning to the big screen in the coming-of-age drama Me, You. “I am excited to board this phenomenal project and to be working with the legendary Bille August,” Franco said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Four of Franco’s accusers were students at his now-defunct acting school, and two of them sued him and his partners in 2019. They claimed that he pressured students into acting in recorded, sexually explicit scenes; the defendants agreed to a $2,235,000 settlement, though Franco’s lawyers at the time denied the allegations. In December, Franco said on a podcast that he struggled from a sex addiction and had been “blind to power dynamics.” Accusers’ lawyers, however, took issue with his comments in a scathing statement, calling his conduct “despicable” and saying that “nobody should confuse this interview with Franco taking accountability.”