Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Deal reached in Franco lawsuit
A tentative settlement has been reached in a lawsuit that alleged James Franco intimidated students at an acting and film school he founded into gratuitous and exploitative sexual situations, attorneys for the plaintiffs said Saturday.
The two sides filed a joint status report in Los Angeles Superior Court telling a judge a settlement had been reached in the class-action lawsuit brought by former students at the now-defunct school, Studio 4, though elements of the lawsuit may live on.
The document was filed Feb. 11, but the settlement has not previously been reported.
Actresses and ex-students Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, who first filed the lawsuit in 2019, have agreed to drop their individual claims under the agreement, according to the court filing. Their lawsuit said Franco pushed his students into performing in increasingly explicit sex scenes on camera that went far beyond those acceptable on Hollywood film sets.
It alleged that Franco “sought to create a pipeline of young women who were subjected to his personal and professional sexual exploitation in the name of education,” and that students were led to believe roles in Franco’s films would be available to those who went along.
The lawsuit said the incidents occurred in a master class on sex scenes that Franco taught at Studio 4, which opened in 2014 and closed in 2017.
After-hours emails seeking comment from attorneys for the defendants were not immediately returned. The document does not reveal how much money may be involved in the deal.
Muppets disclaimer:
Disney Plus has added a content disclaimer to the beginning of 18 episodes of “The Muppet Show,” which started streaming on the platform on Friday.
“This program includes negative depictions and/ or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now,” the disclaimer reads. “Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.”
The disclaimer has been added to a total of 18 episodes throughout the show’s five seasons, including those guest hosted by Jim Nabors,
Joel Grey, Steve Martin, Peter Sellers, Cleo Laine, James Coco, Spike Milligan, Crystal Gayle, Kenny Rogers, Beverly Sills, Jonathan Winters, Alan Arkin, James Coburn, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, Debbie Harry, Wally Boag and Marty Feldman.
The label has been added to each episode for a different reason. For example, during Cash’s episode, he sings in front of a Confederate flag.
Travolta selling home: The Maine mansion that actor John Travolta shared with his late wife, actor Kelly Preston, has been put up for sale.
The 67-year-old star of “Grease” and “Saturday Night Fever” recently listed the home on Islesboro, an island off the coast of Maine, for $5 million, according to the Portland Press Herald.
The couple bought the home in 1991 as newlyweds and turned it from a “very dark and somber” house into a bright family home for their soon-to-be-born son, Jett, according to a 1999 feature in Architectural Digest. Built in 1903, the 10,830-square-foot home has 20 bedrooms and sits on a 48-acre estate along the ocean.
Preston died last year after a two-year battle with breast cancer. She was 57. Their first son, Jett, died in 2009 after suffering a seizure.
Feb. 22 birthdays:
Actor Paul Dooley is 93. Actor Julie Walters is 71. Actor Kyle MacLachlan is 62. Actor-singer Lea Solanga is 50. Actor Drew Barrymore is 46. Actor Zach Roerig is 36.