James Franco has barely spent a moment out of the public eye in recent months, with a series of attention grabbing incidents and strange behaviour keeping him squarely in the spotlight. In perhaps the most scandalous news of all, Franco has now reportedly been caught attempting to hook up with a 17 year old over Instagram.
Lucy Clode, a Scottish teenager, met Franco at his broadway show Of Mice and Men, whilst visiting New York with her mother.
The teenager recorded an Instagram video with the actor outside of the theatre, and he told her ‘you gotta tag me.’
Later that night, James Franco and Lucy Clode shared a flirty exchange via Instagram.
The instagram messages have caught the attention of gossip blogs, with some criticising Franco’s behaviour and others questioning whether the entire incident could be a publicity stunt.
In the messages, 35-year-old James Franco asks Clode if she’s 18, and she answers ‘nearly’. The star then asks if she has a boyfriend and requests her phone number, writing, ‘You’re single? What’s the hotel? Should I rent a room?
When Clode asked for verification that she was communicating with the real James Franco, and he sent two selfies in response. Clode agrees to meet the star, but only if he writes her name on a piece of paper and posts a photo of himself holding it – the star readily obliges.
As the legal age of consent in New York is 18, this behaviour has raised many eyebrows.
Ultimately, the incident becomes too much for Lucy Clode, who backs off, saying ‘I’ll come back when I’m 18.’
‘Don’t tell’, Franco writes. ‘If you don’t want to meet, then text me when you do. Bye.’
After news broke online of James Franco Instagram flirting with the Scottish schoolgirl, Franco shared an image which showed himself with the words: ‘Why are you thirsty for underage ones.’
He then wrote, “I hope parents keep their teens away from me. Thank you,” before deleting the post.
Image Credit: Zimbio
