He disappeared from the limelight after being accused by his students of behaving inappropriately towards them.
Now Hollywood actor James Franco has stepped back into public – showing his face at an exclusive Cannes party.
In 2019 Mr Franco was accused and sued by five of his students that attended his film school, Studio 4, for behaving inappropriately and sexually towards them – one accused him of forcing her to perform oral sex.
Franco’s attorney denied the allegations at the time, and eventually he settled the suit. In a podcast interview late last year, Mr Franco reiterated his belief that any sexual contact between him and his students had been consensual.
‘Over the course of my teaching, I did sleep with students, and that was wrong,’ he said,
Having previously played leading roles in the likes of Spider-Man, Pineapple Express and 127 Hours, Mr Franco was once a regular at parties alike.
Arriving later into the night on Thursday, Mr Franco was spotted in the VIP section wearing a tux at an exclusive Nespresso party on Cannes’s Croisette.
The party, which also had the likes of actor Barry Keoghan, actress Hunter Schafer and ex-Love Islanders in attendance, carried on late into the evening with a free-flowing bar and Italian food on tap.
Hesitant to be bothered, Mr Franco was sat in the VIP area which was guarded by heavy security.
Looking worse for wear the 46-year-old was unrecognisable compared to his previous appearances less than a decade ago.
Having not worked on a project since the accusations, Mr Franco is in Cannes to promote his new film with director Tommy Lee Jones.
The new film, The Razor’s Edge, is debuting at Cannes with a hope to attract buyers and filming is expected to begin later in June.
It will be his first film appearance since The Deuce in 2018 unless you count his voiceover work in Arctic Dogs the following year.
As an official sponsor of the festival Nespresso is working with celebrities throughout the two-week period.
New Hollywood IT man Mr Keoghan is the latest celebrity to work with the brand – pictured last night attending before his own party for his latest film, Bird.
He was surrounded by several women on the night as he stepped out in his tux