InstagramAnother day, another eyebrow-raising Instagram, courtesy of James Franco.
The 36-year-old actor posted yet another questionable pic on the photo-sharing site today, which he captioned, "SELFIEMADNESS The adderall diaries." (For the record, Franco is expected to star in the upcoming flick, which is based on Stephen Elliott's memoir of the same name).
In the shot, the Spring Breakers star appears shirtless while posing with his pants unbuttoned and his underwear exposed in a provocative manner as he appears to mimic the image posted next to his mirror, which appears to be a 1975 Robert Mapplethorpe self-portrait.
Franco is no stranger to posting racy Instagrams. Earlier this month, he shared a photo in which he pulled down his white boxer briefs, apparently on the verge of fully exposing himself, although he later defended the controversial image to David Letterman.
"There's a lot to get straight here and I don't even know if we have time," said the Palo Alto actor, who is no stranger to social media scandals. "But to me, it's just a fun thing. It's something I don't put a ton of thought into, but it gets a lot of attention. I have a lot of followers on Instagram."
He added: "It's not like I'm putting that on billboards. Ostensibly, Instagram is for my fans. But now all the bloggers are following me on there so they'll just take it and use my images for whatever they want...I didn't ask you to look at it! It's what the people want!"
Prior to posting the headline-making pic, the Pineapple Express star came under fire after he used Instagram to hit on a 17-year-old tourist.
He first addressed the incident during an Apr. 4 appearance on Live! With Kelly and Michael. "I'm embarrassed, and I guess I'm just a model of, you know, how social media is tricky," Franco said. "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."
And he later responded to the backlash again on SiriusXM's Howard Stern Show.
"Seventeen is legal in New York, but that being said, it's still pretty damn young," said Franco, who is currently single. "They make it out like I'm pursuing young women. I'm not going to high schools looking for dates. I'm leaving my work and they're coming there. So, I'm seeing attractive women."
As for why he tried to initiate the hook-up?
"Like anybody, I was just trying to meet somebody," Franco told host Howard Stern. "It's just that my dirty s--t gets put out internationally."