James Franco Compares Naked Selfie To Britney Spears’ Shaved Head
James Franco has been on Broadway playing George in Of Mice and Men, but these days he’s been receiving attention for his other role as the media’s favorite narcissist for his selfie posts on Instagram.
Franco, who doesn’t shy away from self-deprecating humor, attended the David Letterman show to clear up a few recent Instagram happenings. While he didn’t talk about hitting on a 17-year-old follower Lucy Cloud, he did address the latest selfie he took on Instagram.
The selie, which has since been deleted is a “special one” Franco said. The selfie he was referring to was the naked selfie. The actor described what went through his head when he decided to post a revealing photo of himself cupping his package for all to see. Before he explained himself, Letterman broke any tension that might be in the air by saying, “First of all let me just say there is not a person in this room who hasn’t had their hand in their own pants.”
Franco defended his selfie and decided to compare it to the commercial photographs that run in magazines and billboards. He compared the photo to “Doogie Howser on the cover of Rolling Stone” and David Beckham “showing his bulge” on billboards. “It’s not like I’m putting that on billboards.”
When asked to explain his thought process behind his naked selfie, Franco compared it to Britney Spears’ emotional breakdown.
“It’s context and it’s attitude. Part of mine I think was like that Britney Spears shaved head moment, where it’s sort of like, ‘All right, you want me? Here you can have me, but I am going to be really ugly.’ You know what I mean?… it’s a little bit of self hatred, but it’s not hatred of myself, it’s hatred of the public self”
The multihyphenate artist explained that his selfies have become so popular that now the bloggers follow his Instagram for quick headlines.
“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.”
When Letterman countered that either way you slice it the photo is provocative, Franco jokingly replied: “I didn’t ask you to look at it!It’s what the people want! If you don’t want to see it, don’t follow me. Don’t follow me on Instagram.”
Earlier in the year Franco wrote about the different meanings of the selfie for The New York Times.
“A well-stocked collection of selfies seems to get attention. And attention seems to be the name of the game when it comes to social networking. It’s what the movie studios want for their products, it’s what professional writers want for their work, it’s what newspapers want — hell, it’s what everyone wants: attention. Attention is power.”
Perhaps James Franco is on to something.
[Image Credit: Instagram]
