After staying silent for 4 entire years, James Franco decided to "apologize" for those sexual misconduct allegations.
Really, it seems he expertly crafted a list of excuses as to why he wasn't a predator; just a victim of his circumstances. Sex addiction, emphasizing the encounters as consensual, the apology we've heard countless times since the #MeToo movement. He admits to sleeping with his students and conveniently glosses over the alleged underage incident.
At the end of the day, whether or not what he did was legal, it was morally disgusting. He said he was a teacher who slept with students, as if that wasn't gross enough. But it was more than that. He was the OWNER of this "acting school." He has a long, documented pattern of this behavior. He says he stayed silent because people were mad at him and he needed to listen. Not buying it. The lawsuit is still active. I predict he's doing this as a PR campaign, instead of calling up those women privately and apologizing.
If he were listening, he wouldn't be talking. You lose that privilege when you open a school, lure young actresses in with the promise of helping their career, and then take advantage of their naivety so you can sleep with them.
I hope his victims learn to forgive him. For their own healing. I hope we, as a society, choose to forget him, at minimum.