In his first wide-ranging interview since five women made sexual misconduct allegations, James Franco has admitted that he slept with students at an acting studio he previously ran.

Franco said that while he "did sleep with students, and that was wrong", he did not start the school to lure women for sexual purposes.

Speaking about his apparent addiction to sex, he explained, "It's such a powerful drug. I got hooked on it for 20 more years. The insidious part of that is that I stayed sober from alcohol all that time."

In 2018, five separate women went public with allegations after Franco won a Golden Globe Award for his role in The Disaster Artist. It was also sparked by Franco's support for the Time's Up campaign.

Among other allegations, actress Sarah Tither-Kaplan claimed to the LA Times that during a sex scene, Franco removed protective plastic guards covering other actresses' vaginas while simulating oral sex on them.

Kaplan and Toni Gaal reached a settlement with the actor earlier this year after suing him and his production company Rabbit Bandini, as well as his two business partners, Vince Jolivette and Jay Davis.

"I suppose at the time, my thinking was if it's consensual, okay," Franco further stated in the new interview.

"At the time I was not clearheaded."

If you've been affected by any issues raised in this article, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre' is available on their website, and their phone number is 1800 77 8888.