Busy Philipps’ new book apparently includes more details about her allegation that James Franco physically assaulted her when they worked on the late-’90s cult TV show “Freaks And Geeks.”
In the actress’ new biography, This Will Only Hurt a Little, Philipps reportedly says Franco was a “f***ing bully” when they were on the show.
According to an excerpt from her book obtained by Radar Online, Philipps described being directed to hit Franco in the chest during one particular scene. (The excerpt was verified by Yahoo, which shares a parent company with HuffPost. HuffPost has not been able to independently verify the passages.)
While she was doing what she was told, Phillipps writes, Franco reportedly broke character and yelled at her.
“He grabbed both my arms and screamed in my face, ‘DON’T EVER TOUCH ME AGAIN!’” she said in the book. “And he threw me to the ground. Flat on my back. Wind knocked out of me.”
Philipps writes that everyone on set was horrified by Franco’s behavior, including series co-star Linda Cardellini, who advised her to complain to her manager, Philipps said.
Although Philipps claims Franco was ordered to apologize the next day, she also wrote that he was never punished for the alleged incident.
Franco hasn’t responded to media requests about Philipps’ accusation, and his publicists did not immediately reply to a request for comment from HuffPost.
However, this isn’t the first time the actress has mentioned the incident.
In 2016, Bravo host Andy Cohen asked her, “Who is the most difficult celebrity you’ve ever worked with?” according to Jezebel.
Phillips answered that it was Franco.
“When we were 19, we were on ′Freaks and Geeks’ and we really, really disliked each other. It’s well-documented. He, like, shoved me to the ground once. It was really brutal,” she told Cohen. “But we’re friends now and we really like each other now as adults.”
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