Charlyne Yi accuses James Franco of being a ‘sexual predator’, says she was ‘bribed’ not to quit The Disaster Artist over sexual assault claims – and brands Seth Rogen his ‘enabler’

• Yi posted the claims against Franco and Rogen in an Instagram post this week 
• 35-year-old said she tried to ‘break legal contract’ but was offered bigger role
• Franco and Rogen have not yet commented on the claims made by the actress 

Charlyne Yi has accused James Franco of being a ‘sexual predator’ and claimed she was ‘bribed’ not to quit The Disaster Artist over sexual assault claims – as she branded Seth Rogen his ‘enabler’.  

The actress, who played designer Safowa Bright-Asare in the Oscar-nominated 2017 movie, posted on Instagram Thursday that she had tried to leave the film due to sexual assault claims against Franco, 42, who was director and lead actor. 

The 35-year-old said she tried to ‘break legal contract’ but the filmmakers instead promised her a bigger role, which Yi saw as an attempted bribe. 

‘I cried and told them that that was the exact opposite of what I wanted, that I didn’t feel safe working with a f*****g sexual predator,’ Yi wrote.

‘They minimized and said Franco being a predator was so last year and that he changed… when I literally heard of him abusing new women that week.’ 

Yi has accused James Franco of being a ‘sexual predator’. She is seen at a premiere for a different movie in 2019 

Yi, previously appeared with Rogen in the 2007 comedy Knocked Up, claimed that Rogen, 38, whose production company Point Grey Pictures produced the film, was Franco’s responsible for not stopping Franco’s alleged misdemeanors. 

She continued: ‘Seth Rogen was one of the producers on this film so he definitely knows about the bribe and why I quit.

‘White men saying it’s not their responsibility when holding Franco accountable, or when holding Seth Rogen and enablers accountable. 

‘Then whose responsibility is it? The women and children who have PTSD from Franco? Or the future targets of abuse?’

On Saturday, Yi posted a second statement on Instagram complaining that women ‘did not feel safe’ speaking out, blaming law enforcement and ‘the media’. 

Dailymail.com has contacted representatives for both Franco and Rogen for comment. 

Franco has faced several allegations of sexual misconduct, including in 2017, when a 17-year-old British schoolgirl Lucy Clode shared messages between her and the then 35-year-old actor inviting her to his hotel room. 

The actor confirmed he had sent the messages and said he was guilty of ‘bad judgement’.  

Yi, who played designer Safowa Bright-Asare in the Oscar-nominated 2017 movie, posted on Instagram Thursday that she had tried to leave the film due to sexual assault claims against Franco, 42, who was director and lead actor

Yi, previously appeared with Rogen in the 2007 comedy Knocked Up, claimed that Rogen, 38, whose production company Point Grey Pictures produced the film, was Franco’s responsible for not stopping Franco’s alleged misdemeanors

A year later, Franco’s former girlfriend Violet Paley claimed he had forced her to perform oral sex in a car, a claim the actor denied. 

Meanwhile, in February, Franco reached a tentative settlement with two female students at his now-defunct Studio 4 acting school.

Actresses and ex-students Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal alleged in a 2019 lawsuit that Franco coerced them into explicit sexual situations against their will, under the guise of it being part of an acting course.

The Palo Alto star ran a master class on sex scenes where the incidents were said to have occurred by both women, prompting them to bring charges against him, but as of February 21 both dropped their claims with the opportunity to-refile in the future.

Franco’s school ran for three years (2014-2017) and had locations in both Los Angeles and New York.

During the course of his sex scene class, it has been said that he pushed and intimidated his students to perform on-camera sex scenes – some in an ‘orgy type setting.’

The women (both students in 2014) alleged that Franco said he would cast them in his upcoming films if they were to perform such explicit scenes, despite the fact that the situations went far beyond what was deemed acceptable on Hollywood film sets.

Franco – seen at an event in New York – has faced several allegations of sexual misconduct

Tither-Kaplan and two other women first aired their sexual misconduct allegations in 2018 in light of the #MeToo movement that swept Hollywood, just after Franco won a Golden Globe for his film The Disaster Artist.

She tweeted, ‘Hey James Franco, nice #timesup pin at the #GoldenGlobes, remember a few weeks ago when you told me the full nudity you had me do in two of your movies for $100/day wasn’t exploitative because I signed a contract to do it? Times up on that!’

In an interview on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Franco said the sexual misconduct stories swirling were highly inaccurate, adding ‘If I’ve done something wrong, I will fix it. I have to.’

In their initial 2019 lawsuit Tither-Kaplan and Gaal said that he, ‘sought to create a pipeline of young women who were subjected to his personal and professional sexual exploitation in the name of education.’

The ladies also alleged that Franco and his production company – RabbitBandini Productions – and Studio 4 partners Vince Jolivette and Jay Davis (who are listed in the lawsuit as defendants) were guilty of ‘humiliating female students and actors.’

Tither-Kaplan cited that on multiple occasions she had witnessed Franco removing vaginal guards, while Gaal claimed she was denied entry to a master class level of the sex scene class due to her concerns.

The suit claimed Gaal was ‘told by a male employee to ‘grow thicker skin’ and stop being so sensitive.’

Dailymail.com has contacted representatives for both Franco and Rogen (pictured) for comment

YI played designer Safowa Bright-Asare in Oscar-nominated The Disaster Artist (pictured) 

Franco’s attorneys, called the claims ‘false and inflammatory’, and ‘legally baseless,’ adding that the class action suit was brought about with the intention of ‘grabbing as much publicity as possible for attention-hungry Plaintiffs.’

His team added that Tither-Kaplan had previously expressed gratitude for the opportunity to work with Franco.

In a social media post she wrote, ‘Thanks for censoring my nip jamesy. Looooveeee these maniacs.’ In another she had written, ‘James is a gem. I’m lucky to be part of this big ol weird fam.’

James and his camp spoke out about her claims, saying that she and all students had signed waivers of consent.

‘The casting director and others involved with those films have confirmed that all actresses, including Tither-Kaplan, were aware of the nudity scenes ahead of time, that they were constantly checking to make sure the actresses felt comfortable, that they signed nudity waivers, and that no one – including Tither-Kaplan – ever complained.’

On February 11 both sides filed a joint status report in Los Angeles Superior Court telling the judge that a settlement had been reached between both parties, but the settlement had not been previously reported.

The sides had reportedly been working towards a settlement for month’s halting the lawsuit while they were in discussion; the settlement amount has not been publicized at this time.

The agreement outlined that the women had dropped their individual claims and that their sexual exploitation allegations were being ‘dismissed without prejudice,’ meaning they could re-file in the future.

Additionally, the document said that the fraud allegations brought by them would be ‘subjected to limited release,’ though no further detail was given in the report.

He has kept a relatively low profile since the allegations first arose, and whether or not he will make a statement in lieu of the settlement news is unknown at this time. 

Tither-Kaplan (pictured) first aired the allegations about sexual misconduct by Franco at his Studio 4 acting school in 2018 but did not file a lawsuit until 2019

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