James Franco addresses sexual misconduct allegations: "I did sleep with students and that was wrong"

TooFab

In a new interview with SiriusXM's Jess Cagle, Franco discussed the allegations that first surfaced in the Los Angeles Times four years ago next month, in which four of his acting students said they felt exploited. When Cagle specifically asked about the lawsuit saying Franco's sex scenes class was simply "a pipeline of young women who would be subjected to his personal and professional sexual exploitation in the name of education," the actor admitted to having sex with some of his students. "Look, I'll admit I did sleep with students. I didn't sleep with anybody in that particular class. But, over the course of my teaching, I did sleep with students and that was wrong" he said. "It's not why I started the school and I wasn't the person that selected the people to be in the class. So it wasn't a master plan on my part. But yes, there were certain instances where, you know what I was in a consensual thing with, with a student and I shouldn't have been." Franco was also asked about the "power imbalance" between student and teacher given his fame. "I suppose at the time, my thinking was if it's consensual, okay," he responded. "At the time, I was not clearheaded as I've said. I guess it just comes down to my criteria, which was like, 'If this is consensual, like, I think it's cool. We're all adults.'" ALSO: Franco discusses the end of his working relationship with Seth Rogen.