Screenshots of an alleged Instagram conversation between James Franco and a 17-year-old girl named Lucy Clode have surfaced online. In the conversation, Franco attempts to persuade the girl to meet him at a hotel room.
Clode was visiting New York City from Scotland for her 18th birthday and met the star after a performance of his Broadway show Of Mice and Men at Longacre Theatre. She recorded an Instagram video with him, in which he tells her “You gotta tag me.”
After the video was posted, the two exchanged some flirtatious messages through the site. Franco asked her where she is from, how long she will be staying in New York City, if she is single, and if he should rent a hotel room.
Clode did not originally believe it was actually Franco, however Franco provided her with picture proof two times that it was him. One of the photos was of him holding a piece of paper with her name written on it, per her request.
In the end, the two did not hook up. After pictures of the conversation were leaked, Franco posted a photo of himself on Instagram with the words “WHY ARE YOU SO THIRSTY FOR UNDERAGE ONES” written on it. Along with the photo, he also tweeted:
I’M NOT! I HOPE PARENTS KEEP THEIR TEENS AWAY FROM ME. Thank you http://t.co/I1d4n3yVe0
— James Franco (@JamesFrancoTV) April 2, 2014
The Instagram photo has since been deleted.
Franco’s representative has yet to comment on the situation.
