Sarah Tither-Kaplan, who appears in eight episodes, was a student at James Franco's acting school Studio 4. She and another female student sued Franco and his partners saying they subjected them to sexually exploitative auditions and nude film shoots, all while promising them roles in movies that never materialized or were never released. They said the now-defunct program was little more than a scheme to provide him and his male collaborators with a pool of young female performers that they could take advantage of. Franco and his partners "engaged in widespread inappropriate and sexually charged behavior towards female students by sexualizing their power as a teacher and an employer by dangling the opportunity for roles in their projects." Tither-Kaplan said she was often asked to appear in nude scenes or sex scenes for films that were never released. During the making of an orgy scene for one of his films, Franco removed plastic guards that covered other actresses' vaginas while he simulated oral sex on them, according to the lawsuit. In 2018, at the awards ceremony for the Golden Globes, Franco wore a pin expressing his support for Time's Up, a movement started by prominent figures in the entertainment industry to combat sexual misconduct. At the time, he was roundly criticized on social media by Tither-Kaplan and other viewers who noticed this. She sent a tweet pointing out the pin and reminding him that he recently told her the full nudity he asked her to do for $100 a day in two of his movies was not exploitative because she had signed a contract.
