James Franco may be done with trying to pick up teenagers on Instagram, but he crossed another line on Thursday, May 1, when he uploaded a nearly nude selfie to the social media site.

The selfie shows Franco’s reflection in his bathroom mirror. The actor stands in nothing but white boxer shorts, and has one hand down his pants while holding his phone with the other. His expression is sad and stubborn. The odd photo, posted with the caption “JUMP ROPE,” was quickly deleted from his account.

The photo scandalized many, as Franco’s genitals are almost exposed in the odd shot, and others were simply baffled by Franco’s motivations. Franco is known for posting selfies on Instagram, particularly ‘bed selfies’ of himself laying in bed, but this slightly nude photo marked a departure from Franco’s usual ammo. Franco doesn’t regret taking the selfie, but appears to have taken it down after an onslaught of negative reactions.

James Franco Defends Nude Selfie

“Look at any f—king ad! Look at the f—king Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit Issue,” Franco exclaimed, defending the controversial selfie in an interview with The Daily Beast.

Franco went on to say that his selfie was no more revealing or offensive than any billboards featuring a mostly naked David Beckham and observed that the only difference is that his photo was taken in his home.

“Is it because it’s in my own bathroom?” Franco asked.

Despite his attitude, Franco says he won’t be posting any more almost-naked selfies, though fans should expect him to do something equally shocking soon. In the same interview, Franco admitted that his obsession with Instagram and social networking has only made him want to push boundaries even more.

“[If] I look back on my relationship with Instagram, or Twitter, or whatever, I find that I push certain boundaries to see what kind of reaction I’ll get and the inevitably I go too far. It’s ironic to me because what takes it too far I find, in some realms, not to be racy at all,” Franco explained.

This is just the latest Instagram scandal for Franco, who publicly hit on a 17-year-old girl via the social networking site one month ago, earning him a significant amount of bad press. He also attacked writer Ben Brantley after the reporter gave his Broadway debut in Of Mice and Men a negative review in The New York Times. He has since deleted his posts related to both incidents.

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Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.