Weeks after teasing a major reveal on his TikTok page, James Franco finally unveiled what he claimed was footage of an extraterrestrial outside his home…but viewers weren’t buying it.
Social media users quickly pointed to one detail they believe exposed that the Oscar-nominated actor had put little effort into his set design.
Franco, whose Hollywood career was affected by the allegations of misconduct made against him by a group of women in 2018, recently returned to social media with a string of cryptic TikTok videos.
James Franco spent weeks building up his “alien” reveal, only to be mercilessly trolled by thousands of viewers
Image credits: jamesfranco2319/TikTok
His first video was captioned, “I can’t say too much right now. But stick around and I promise it will all make sense.”
The 127 Hours actor reassured fans that the account genuinely belonged to him and that the video was not the work of AI.
“I maybe seem crazy, like, why? What’s going on? What’s the gimmick? No. This is real,” he said.
Image credits: jamesfranco2319/TikTok
Franco whispered that “some serious stuff is going on” and said he wasn’t drawing attention to himself to promote an upcoming project.
Over the following weeks, the 48-year-old continued posting bizarre videos in which he claimed he was being followed and feared he would disappear.
Eventually, Franco said the mystery centered on an alleged alien encounter outside his West Hollywood property.
On June 15, he claimed he had captured footage of an alien outside his home while announcing that the video would be released on July 13.
The actor, 48, insisted he wasn’t “acting crazy” and claimed someone tried to stop him from posting the video
Image credits: jamesfranco2319/TikTok
On June 25, the Interview star insisted that he was “not acting crazy” and had “seen something.”
“They tried to hack my account and I got it back. They don’t want me to show what I’m gonna show. I’m gonna show it. I already told you, 7/13.”
On the day of the reveal, Franco filmed himself in front of his laptop and hit “play” on the clip, which showed a figure walking behind a tree and approaching his window.
At one point, the alien-like figure touched the window, revealing its long fingers.
@jamesfranco2319The day is here. 7/13 7:13 more footage dropping soon.♬ original sound – James Franco
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Despite Franco’s efforts to prove the alleged alien encounter and weeks of buildup to the video, most social media users remained skeptical about what they saw on their screens.
“I would like to see the clip of those long creepy fingers utilizing that doorknob,” commented one viewer.
“If I were to convince you guys of alien footage being genuine, I would show the movement of the hand on the knob,” they added.
Franco promised that more footage of the alleged alien encounter is still to come
Image credits: jamesfranco2319/TikTok
Several viewers were convinced that Franco was promoting a project, with many pointing out that the “alien” looked like a costume.
“The aliens he showed are literally alien costumes from Scary Movie 4,” one viewer joked, while another simply said, “You’ve lost it.”
In the caption of the TikTok video, which amassed more than 1.5 million views in a day, Franco wrote that he would be releasing more footage soon.
@jamesfranco23197/13 is coming up!!! I’ll be revealing everything then!! I’ll be releasing MORE to my subscribers so make sure to subscribe! I’ll be posting EVERYTHING THERE!! Don’t worry I’ll also be posting on my main feed also, but just can’t post everything.♬ original sound – James Franco
Franco made his film debut in the 1999 romantic comedy Never Been Kissed. Two years later, he had his breakthrough when he was cast as the title role in the biographical film James Dean.
He achieved global fame when he played Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man trilogy.
The Palo Alto-born star is also known for playing Daniel Desario in the comedy-drama series Freaks and Geeks, as well as for his work in the films Pineapple Express, This Is the End, 127 Hours, The Interview, and The Disaster Artist.
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Franco had largely stayed away from social media following the s**ual misconduct allegations made against him in 2018.
That year, five students from his acting school, Studio 4, came forward to the Los Angeles Times, accusing the star of inappropriate or exploitative behavior.
In 2019, two more students alleged that Franco had engaged in “widespread inappropriate and s**ually charged behavior toward female students.”
In a lawsuit, the former students alleged that Franco’s acting school “sought to create a pipeline of young women who were subjected to his personal and professional s**ual exploitation in the name of education.”
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The lawsuit was settled in 2021 for $2.2 million. Franco later admitted to having slept with the students and said he had undergone treatment for s**ual add**tion.
The actor has also admitted to messaging and attempting to meet up with a 17-year-old girl when he was 35. He later said he was “embarrassed” and had “learned my lesson.”
“Being told you’re bad is painful,” he told Variety in 2024. “But ultimately, that’s kind of what I needed to just stop going the way I was going.”
His Hollywood career was derailed after multiple former acting students accused him of misconduct
Image credits: Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images
Since settling the lawsuit, Franco has starred in the French action film The Price of Money: A Largo Winch Adventure, and the Italian movies Hey Joe and Squali.
He has several projects scheduled for release over the next few years, including the Lionsgate-produced war film John Rambo, which will mark his return to American audiences next year, as well as Golden State Killer, directed by Vincent Gallo.
“Someone is playing a very expensive prank on James,” one netizen quipped
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