14 DAY TRIAL // It looks like “127 Hours” actor James Franco likes them young, very young. The 35-year-old is currently involved in a scandal after a flirty conversation with a girl he'd spotted outside his studio leaked online.
The conversation on Instragram, that was recorded with screenshots, shows a very pushy Franco trying to convince the girl to see him in her hotel for a date. The blond girl was from Scotland but was in New York as part of a present for her birthday.
Her good looks caught Franco's eye, who decided to chat her up on Instagram. The photos of the conversation seem to be from Franco's verified account, and he begins with asking how old the girl is, if she's from New York and where she lives.
Things move very quickly from then on, because Franco is apparently not the man who takes no for an answer. After finding out that the “schoolgirl” is from out of town and in New York for just a couple of days, he asks the name of her hotel and if he should rent a room there, “You’re single? Where’s your hotel? Should I rent a room?”
At this point, the girl gets suspicious and asks him to prove his identity. The actor complies and sends her a photo of himself waving to the camera. He sounds like he's quickly losing his patience and continues the conversation with “It's me. Yes or no? Tomorrow or thurs[day]?”
But the girl is still not convinced she's talking with the real deal so she asks him for a picture of him holding up a piece of paper with her name on it. It's right about here that James begins to lose some of his momentum and changes his mind about the whole thing.
It also might have something to do with the fact that he found out that the girl was “almost 18” and that her birthday was in May, which was more than a few days away.
The Mirror got a hold of the entire conversation and is claiming that this bizarre courtship attempt has landed James in hot water, because now people think he does this all the time, picking up young girls and making use of his fame to seduce them.
Since the viral breakout, James Franco has taken to Twitter to clear matters and say that he's not into underage girls but has also added that parents should keep their young daughters away from him.
The interesting fact is that there are some voices out there that are saying that this is all a publicity stunt that is aimed at promoting James' new movie “Palo Alto,” in which he plays a soccer coach who seduces his 14-year-old babysitter.
The movie is based on the actor's own collection of short stories that is due out on May 9, and skeptics think that this viral campaign is nothing but a way to plug the movie and the book.