James Franco as Daniel Desario, Busy Philipps as Kim Kelly for Freaks & Geeks. Photo / Getty Images
James Franco as Daniel Desario, Busy Philipps as Kim Kelly for Freaks & Geeks. Photo / Getty Images
Busy Philipps alleges James Franco assaulted her on the set of 1999-2000 TV sitcom Freaks & Geeks, writing in her forthcoming book that the actor physically attacked in front of the cast and crew.
The actress makes the claim in This Will Only Hurt a Little, out October 16, claiminghe aggressively pushed her to the ground in reaction to a scripted gesture he apparently didn't like.
Philipps writes that she was directed to gently hit Franco on the chest as she delivered a line but he broke character and shouted at her before shoving her, reports RadarOnline.
"He grabbed both my arms and screamed in my face, 'DON'T EVER TOUCH ME AGAIN!'" the book details. "And he threw me to the ground. Flat on my back. Wind knocked out of me."
Philipps, now 39, says that although witnesses rushed to help her up and co-star Linda Cardellini told her to notify her manager, Franco was never properly reprimanded.
The TV and movie star apologized after the director and producers ordered him to do so.
Freaks & Geeks only ran for 18 episodes and had numerous directors and producers including Judd Apatow, comedian Josh Elvis Weinstein and it was created by Paul Feig.
At a time when Dawson's Creek was already airing but her character had yet to appear on the series, it was Philipps' biggest role to date.
Franco, now 40, also had a few minor roles on his acting credentials including screen time in Never Been Kissed.
During his career he has been accused of sexual misconduct at least five times but says the allegations are "not accurate", the DailyMail reports.
Late last month, Philipps said that she was left bloodied and bruised after a 17-year-old boy from her high school sexually assaulted her in the back of his car when she was just 14.
She made the claim on Instagram late last month, posting her story while Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified that she was sexually assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Philipps was a freshman in high school and living in Arizona at the time, four years before she would head to Hollywood and became a household name.
She is now married to writer and director Marc Silverstein and the couple have two children, Birdie, 10, and 6-year-old Cricket.
