Two women have accused James Franco and his partners of sexual harassment and discrimination in a lawsuit against the Oscar nominee and his production company. The women, who attended Franco's acting school, say the actor and his partners also harassed other female students.

The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court and is seeking class-action status for the plaintiffs - Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal - as well as other "similarly situated" women who attended the classes at Studio 4. 

Franco ran the acting school from 2014 through 2017. The actor closed the school, which had branches in Los Angeles and New York, after several women accused him of sexual exploitation.

The two women accuse Franco and his partners of "sexualizing their power as a teacher and an employer by dangling the opportunity for roles in their projects," according to the lawsuit.

Franco's attorney said the women's claims have "already been debunked."

"James will not only fully defend himself, but will also seek damages from the plaintiffs and their attorneys for filing this scurrilous publicity-seeking lawsuit," Franco's attorney, Michael Plonsker, said in a statement.

Sarah Tither-Kaplan was one of Studio 4's first students when it opened in 2014. At the time, Franco taught a class called Sex Scenes. Tither-Kaplan says the class encouraged students to take risks with their bodies. Wanting to be a team player, she played along. 

Gaal claimed that most of the work that was offered to students had nudity requirements.

In an appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" in 2018, Franco maintained his innocence, claiming that the accusations were "not accurate." The actor said that he supports "people coming out and being able to have a voice."

That year, five women came forward to accuse Franco of sexual misconduct.

Some legal experts have mixed feelings about the controversy. "James has faced several accusations of misconduct, but the reality is these kinds of cases are very difficult to win in a court trial," says Tsion Chudnovsky, a sex crimes attorney based in Los Angeles.

"Waves of accusations and litigation are working through the entertainment industry in the MeToo era. Many have resulted in prosecutors filing criminal charges. Civil suits like this one are usually filed to try and coerce a settlement," according to Ms. Chudnovsky.

The lawsuit claims that Franco's master class required students to audition by simulating sex acts, which were filmed and then allegedly watched by Franco to choose candidates.

The suit claims that these acts were performed without the industry-standard closed sets and guidelines used for shooting sex scenes. 

Gaal claims that she was excluded from the master class because she questioned its "exploitive nature."

The lawsuit is seeking unspecified punitive and compensatory damages as well as royalties and other compensation for work the women performed for Rabbit Bandini, Franco's production company.