Seth Rogen reacted to the recent James Franco scandal – the actor was caught trying to pick up a 17-year-old on Instagram – the same way many did: with complete confusion.
On April 2, photos and screen grabs of text messages and Instagram exchanges appeared online, allegedly proving that Franco flirted with a young woman he connected with on Instagram after meeting her outside the stage door of his Broadway play Of Mice and Men. Lucy Clode, a 17-year-old Scottish tourist, was the receiver of Franco’s suggestive messages, and she was reportedly in town to celebrate her upcoming 18th birthday. Clode waited outside the stage door and took a quick Instagram video with Franco, in which he told her to tag him. Clode did, and the two began to exchange comments on Instagram before moving over to text messages.
The conversations and photos of the conversations latter posted by Clode have been deleted, but transcripts are still available. In the alleged conversations, Franco asked Clode her age, whether or not she had a boyfriend and how long she would be staying in New York. When they switched over to text messages, Clode asked Franco for proof of identity, and he responded with two selfies before offering to rent them a hotel room.
After the conversation leaked online, Franco responded with a post on Instagram, now deleted, but the tweet that accompanied it is still on his profile.
“I hope parents keep their teens away from me,” Franco wrote, supposedly trying to make light of the situation.
I'M NOT! I HOPE PARENTS KEEP THEIR TEENS AWAY FROM ME. Thank you https://t.co/I1d4n3yVe0
— James Franco (@JamesFrancoTV) April 2, 2014
He later appeared on Live with Kelly and Michael and offered a public apology of sorts, explaining what had happened and calling the entire incident embarrassing.
“I guess, you know, I’m embarrassed, and I guess I’m just a model of, you know, how social media is tricky. It’s a way people meet each other today. But what I’ve learned I guess, just because I’m new to it is like, you don’t know who’s on the other end. You meet somebody in person and you get a feel for them but you don’t know who you’re talking to, and, you know? So I used bad judgment. I learned my lesson,” Franco said.
“Unfortunately in my position, I mean… I have a very good life, but not only do I have to go through the embarrassing kind of rituals of kind of meeting someone, sometimes if I do that then it gets, you know, published for the world so now, you know, it’s like doubly embarrassing,” he added.
Franco’s frequent collaborator, Rogen, was asked about Franco’s recent online escapades at an event for his Hilarity for Charity event Tuesday night. Some have suggested that the entire scandal was manufactured by Franco as an elaborate, performance art style, promotion for his new film Palo Alto. When asked if he thought the Franco scandal was real or fake, Rogen said he had no idea.
“I am afraid to ask,” Rogen said, laughing.
Rogen and Franco will star together in the film The Interview, coming out in October.
– Olivia Truffaut-Wong
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