James Franco has released more unusual posts on social media, this time a video claiming to show footage of alien activity.
The actor, famous for the Spider-Man movies and comedies such as Pineapple Express and The Interview, made headlines last month for posting cryptic TikTok videos claiming that there was “crazy stuff going on”.
It was unclear what he was alluding to, but many commenters assumed he was promoting a new movie. While he insisted he is not promoting anything, the only accounts he follows are associated with his forthcoming movie, Love Meets In The Sunshine.
Recently, he has been posting videos promising to unveil something mysterious on “7/13” (July 13), and delivered on that promise on Monday with a video of him standing behind a laptop computer. You can watch the clip below.
“I promised you, I was going to reveal something,” he began, explaining: “it was thrust upon me, I didn’t ask for this”. He then talked about how people have been calling him “crazy”, and how his social media account had been hacked twice by “people trying to shut me down”.
@jamesfranco2319 The day is here. 7/13 7:13 more footage dropping soon.
♬ original sound – James Franco
After a rambling explanation, he said: “7/13, you wanted it, here it is, I delivered”. He then presses play on a video of a person in a crude fancy dress alien costume walking through woods, looking through windows, and sneaking through a doorway. He concluded the video by saying “OK? Enough said” followed by a title screen that promises more footage soon.
It remains unclear why the actor is posting these videos, but the most recent post has generated over 2million views and 10,000 comments. Among them was reality star Snooki, who simply wrote “stop” with an unimpressed emoji. Other commenters speculated whether it was former collaborator Seth Rogen in the mask, while another quipped “at least he’s wearing a different shirt”, in reference to the original videos showing him wearing a shirt with the name “Bruce Robinson” written on it.
Another reacted angrily, writing “cut this shit Franco, just give us more Buster Scruggs” (in reference to his 2018 film The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs), while one person compared him to Alien, his eccentric drug dealing character from 2012 crime comedy Spring Breakers.
Having spent much of the 2000s and 2010s as one of Hollywood’s most in-demand stars, in 2018 accusations of sexual misconduct emerged against James Franco, resulting in a 2021 lawsuit that was settled out of court. Franco denied all allegations at the time, but later discussed them publicly. His last major role in a widely released movie was 2017’s The Disaster Artist, in which he played Tommy Wiseau, the creator of the movie The Room.
The allegations also appeared to end his friendship with Rogen, who discussed the status of their friendship in an interview last month. “There’s the public-facing side of it, which I’ve spoken about, and I have the same stance publicly that I’ve had, and I think the proof is in the pudding – I have not worked with him in years” he told The New York Times.
He would then say the private aspect of their relationship is “nuanced” and difficult to talk about, but he reiterated: “I haven’t worked with him in a really long time, and I have no plans to.”
