Some of the digital edits used in Vanity Fair’s 2018 Hollywood issue were unintentionally hilarious.
But at least one was no laughing matter.
James Franco — who was recently accused of sexual misconduct by five women — was supposed to be part of the magazine’s main feature. But the actor was digitally removed from the cover spread shortly before publication, per The Hollywood Reporter.
12 extraordinary stars, one very momentous year. The 2018 Hollywood portfolio is here: https://t.co/6PfsFsPzK1 pic.twitter.com/MfRsp2y9Z3 — VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) January 25, 2018
“We made a decision not to include James Franco on the Hollywood cover once we learned of the misconduct allegations against him,” a spokesperson for Vanity Fair confirmed to THR on Thursday.
Franco apparently sat for a photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz and was interviewed for the issue, which has been in the works since November. But he was scrubbed from the magazine after numerous women accused Franco of sexual misconduct on Twitter in early January, following the actor’s decision to wear a Time’s Up pin — part of a campaign to combat sexual misconduct amid the #MeToo movement — at the Golden Globes.
An explosive Los Angeles Times report soon afterward didn’t help Franco, either.
The “Disaster Artist” star denied the allegations made against him during a Jan. 9 appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
“The things that I heard that were on Twitter are not accurate,” Franco said then, “but I completely support people coming out and being able to have a voice, because they didn’t have a voice for so long.”
(CNN) James Franco has been erased from the cover of Vanity Fair's annual issue celebrating Hollywood and the Academy Awards.
"We made a decision not to include James Franco on the Hollywood cover once we learned of the misconduct allegations against him," the publication said in a statement released to CNN Friday.
The magazine debuted its new cover Thursday, with the headline " The 2018 Vanity Fair Hollywood Portfolio: 12 Extraordinary Stars, One Momentous Year."
12 extraordinary stars, one very momentous year. The 2018 Hollywood portfolio is here: https://t.co/6PfsFsPzK1 pic.twitter.com/MfRsp2y9Z3
Those featured are usually photographed in small groups and then digitally combined into one image. As a result, dropping Franco did not necessitate a reshoot.
The actor has denied allegations by five women who told the Los Angeles Times earlier this month they experienced inappropriate and sometimes sexually exploitative behavior by Franco.
CNN has reached out to representatives for Franco for comment about him being removed from the cover.
But Franco's absence isn't the only controversy over the cover.
"A Wrinkle in Time" costars Reese Witherspoon and Oprah Winfrey appear to have additional limbs in the photo.
Witherspoon looks to have three legs and Winfrey and third hand.
The stars joked about it on Twitter.
"Well...I guess everybody knows now...I have 3 legs. I hope you can still accept me for who I am.," Witherspoon tweeted. "And I will never apologize for snuggling @Oprah .. if you get the opportunity, I highly recommend it."
Well...I guess everybody knows now...I have 3 legs. I hope you can still accept me for who I am. 😃( and I will never apologize for snuggling @Oprah .. if you get the opportunity, I highly recommend it;) https://t.co/6GyrfWxNSY — Reese Witherspoon (@RWitherspoon) January 25, 2018
Winfrey responded with "I accept your 3d leg. As I know you accept my 3d hand."
I accept your 3d leg. As I know you accept my 3d hand👋🏾👋🏾👋🏾❤️ — Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) January 25, 2018
Vanity Fair also kept it light, tweeting that the "third leg" is actually the lining of Witherspoon's dress and, "As for @Oprah, how can we expect her to juggle it all with just two hands?"
While we would have loved the exclusive on @RWitherspoon's three legs, unfortunately it's just the lining of her dress. https://t.co/HJjvbc037S — VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) January 25, 2018
As for @Oprah, how can we expect her to juggle it all with just two hands?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯_/¯ (We are correcting this error online.) https://t.co/QNd74YtSTz — VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) January 25, 2018
The publication tweeted that it would be correcting the third hand in its online edition.
12 extraordinary stars, one very momentous year. The 2018 Hollywood portfolio is here: https://t.co/6PfsFsPzK1 pic.twitter.com/MfRsp2y9Z3 — VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) January 25, 2018
When Vanity Fair unveiled the cover for its highly anticipated, annual Hollywood issue on Thursday, many took note of the fact that Reese Witherspoon appeared to have three legs due to what some called a “Photoshop” error. But that wasn’t the only digital alteration the cover underwent.
The cover includes an array of celebrities ranging from Oprah to Michael B. Jordan to Tom Hanks. “12 Extraordinary Stars, One Momentous Year,” reads the caption. It was originally set to feature 13 celebrities, but at the last minute, the magazine chose to digitally remove actor James Franco from the spread.
“We made a decision not to include James Franco on the Hollywood cover once we learned of the misconduct allegations against him,” a Vanity Fair spokesperson told the Hollywood Reporter.
At least five women have accused Franco of sexual misconduct.
James Franco addressed sexual misconduct allegations Jan. 9 on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," after winning best actor in a comedy at the Golden Globes. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)
Several sources told the Hollywood Reporter that Franco sat for photo shoot conducted by Annie Leibovitz. The celebrities for the cover, which include Oprah Winfrey, Michael B. Jordan and Tom Hanks, are shot in small groups. Those images are later digitally combined into a larger image, meaning the decision to remove Franco did not require a reshoot.
Vanity Fair has published its Hollywood issue annually since 1995. One of the highlights of the issue each year is its star-studded covers, which range from lush to comic to provocative. The magazine said the “Hollywood Issue can be judged by its covers: artful, innovative, prescient.”
Franco’s star has quickly fallen ever since the Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 7, where he won “best actor in a musical or comedy” for his role in “The Disaster Artist” as real-life director Tommy Wiseau. What should have been a moment of celebration for the actor quickly shifted as several women took to Twitter and accused him of hypocrisy for wearing a pin in support of the anti-sexual harassment organization Time’s Up.
“Cute #TIMESUP pin James Franco,” tweeted actress Violet Paley. “Remember the time you pushed my head down in a car towards your exposed penis & that other time you told my friend to come to your hotel when she was 17? After you had already been caught doing that to a different 17 year old?”
Cute #TIMESUP pin James Franco. Remember the time you pushed my head down in a car towards your exposed penis & that other time you told my friend to come to your hotel when she was 17? After you had already been caught doing that to a different 17 year old? — Violet Paley (@VioletPaley) January 8, 2018
“Hey James Franco, nice #timesup pin at the #GoldenGlobes, remember a few weeks ago when you told me the full nudity you had me do in two of your movies for $100/day wasn’t exploitative because I signed a contract to do it?” tweeted actress and filmmaker Sarah Tither-Kaplan. “Times up on that!”
Hey James Franco, nice #timesup pin at the #GoldenGlobes , remember a few weeks ago when you told me the full nudity you had me do in two of your movies for $100/day wasn't exploitative because I signed a contract to do it? Times up on that! — Sarah Tither-Kaplan (@sarahtk) January 8, 2018
The following week, late-night hosts Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert questioned Franco about the allegations during interviews on their respective shows. Franco continued to deny them, telling Colbert, “The things that I heard that were on Twitter are not accurate, but I completely support people coming out and being able to have a voice because they didn’t have a voice for so long.”
Then the Los Angeles Times published a story on Jan. 11 detailing the allegations against him, which included using his position as an acting teacher and director to coerce women into removing their clothes and performing oral sex on him. He continued to deny these allegations.
Franco has remained fairly quiet since then, skipping the Critics’ Choice Awards even though he won for best comedy actor.
He failed to garner an Oscar nomination for his role in “The Disaster Artist.” Many film critics had expected him to get a nod in the best actor category, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
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James Franco originally did have a spot on the cover of Vanity Fair's annual Hollywood issue.
Before he was cut from the feature following allegations of abuse of power and inappropriate behavior, the Disaster Artist star was actually positioned between Michael Shannon and Harrison Ford.
If you click through to the second photo of this Instagram slideshow from a fan, you can slightly see Franco in the top right hand corner in pre-edited pictures from the VF photo shoot.
A source told ET on Friday that being pulled from the cover was a major "kick to the gut" for Franco.
"He was supposed to be on this cover with all these Hollywood icons," the source explained. "It’s a very momentous moment. Opportunities like this don't come around often."
"The cover was shot months ago, but I don't know when they decided to remove him," the source added. "James knew he was being cut as soon as the story [about his inappropriate behavior] broke. He'd been bracing for the fallout."
In a statement to ET, Vanity Fair revealed why they decided to edit the 39-year-old actor out of the issue. "We made a decision not to include James Franco on the Hollywood cover once we learned of the misconduct allegations against him," the outlet explained in the statement.
In addition to Shannon and Ford, the cover, which was shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, also features Jessica Chastain, Oprah Winfrey, Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Tom Hanks, Michael B. Jordan, Zendaya, Robert De Niro, Gal Gadot, Claire Foy and VF's editor Graydon Carter.
Vanity Fair
Aside from being removed from the cover, Franco was also snubbed out of a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist earlier this month. A source tells ET that Franco, who had been a front-runner and already won Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy at this year's Golden Globes, is not doing well.
"The story has gotten away from him," the source explained, adding that Franco felt like he was "on top of the world" leading up to awards season. "He hoped that by keeping quiet, this would blow over. But even with industry friends coming to his side, things are spiraling downward."
"He was really being recognized as a force in Hollywood and then it came to an abrupt halt," the source continued. "His friends think he'll bounce back from this because he really is looking inward and trying to learn and be better. It just depends on if the public will forgive him. He's just really in a dark place right now."
As ET previously reported, an article in the Los Angeles Times was published on Jan. 11, detailing the accounts of five women accusing Franco of abuse of power and inappropriate behavior. However, a source close to Franco disputes that number, adding that the accusations against the actor are "false." Franco also denied allegations during appearances on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and Late Night With Seth Meyers.
An additional source told ET earlier this month that Franco's friends are "really worried" about his well-being at the moment.
"He's not in a good place," the source said at the time. "They're watching him around the clock. He's really struggling."
Hear more in the video below.
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