James Franco Talks ‘Being Outed’ As Gay By Gawker


James Franco and Gawker have history. Like a bitter divorced couple, Gawker reports on salacious stories, but when it comes to Franco the site seems to drop everything to really drive a “tip” home.

Over the years, Gawker has run headlines like “The People Have Spoken, And They Think James Franco Is A Rapist,” or for the less colorful option, “James Franco Is Gay.” Throughout the years, when talking about the tabloids or gossip sites, Franco has publicly “outed” Gawker as a main culprit, always mentioning by name and slamming them for different defamatory headlines. At one point, he even staged “gay-friendly” candid paparazzi photos that he then took to Instagram just to mock Gawker’s headlines with his own tabloid-y captions.

Most recently the site decided to insinuate that Franco is gay, which isn’t a ridiculous claim as every publication has posed this question when it comes to Franco’s sexuality. This is due to Franco’s seemingly ongoing journey to bring a new light to an otherwise partly neglected narrative. Over the years, he’s played openly gay beat poet Allen Ginsberg, Harvey Milk’s boyfriend Scott Smith, and has played on homoerotic bromances in many of Seth Rogen films.

That said, Gawker seems to take it to another level of just questioning. The latest Franco-related headline to come from the site is simply “James Franco Is Living With a Man.” That man in question is Scott Haze, an actor who he has put in many of his directorial efforts, including his latest adaptation Child of God. Both men were interviewed during a recent New York Times profile piece, where the writer decided to mention as a tag that the two just so happened to be living together.

Franco didn’t seem to take issue with the New York Times piece, but when Gawker jumped on it to create a whole new angle, James went to town by mocking the site via his Instagram.

James Franco and Gawker

Most recently, when Gawker was apparently disinvited from James Franco’s party for his mockumentary KINK, the star reached out to an author via his Instagram for a formal “apology” of sorts. The actor wrote, “Awwww, did gawker get disinvited to the KINK party? wahhhhhhhhh!!! Rich, nothing against you. I didn’t even know we were supposed to talk. I’d be happy to talk to you if you get a job that isn’t one click away from TMZ. GO SEE “KINK” this weekend!!!!!”

You get the picture.

So while the actor was out promoting The Sound and the Fury at the Venice Film Festival, Gawker was of course brought up in the interview. James was happy to talk about it, while Scott Haze, who was paired with the actor, seemed a bit uncomfortable.

The Daily Beast reported on the most recent outing by Gawker.

“Yeah, and then they got a little pissy because I said it was ‘homophobic,’ and yeah it is,” said Franco. “And then they said, ‘Oh, well a gay guy wrote it!’ I don’t care if the press is gay or straight. When did you have to face criticism for having a roommate? I don’t understand that!”

Then with some pause, Franco said, “And there were like… eight people living in that house, so to make a story about that— — I don’t care, but it just shows how petty Gawker is. It’s ridiculous.”

So far, Gawker hasn’t responded to James Franco’s recent reaction to them, but we’re sure it’s only a matter of time before they jump on this one.

[Image via ChinellatoPhoto / Shutterstock.com]

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