Actor James Franco was digitally removed from the cover of Vanity Fair’s Hollywood issue, after the award-winning star was accused by multiple women of “inappropriate” and “sexually exploitative” behavior.
“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.
Franco has been accused of misconduct by at least five women, four of them his former acting students, who told the LA Times early this month that Franco subjected them to a range of inappropriate behavior.
Franco’s attorney, Michael Plonsker, disputed the claims against his client.
The misconduct allegations against Franco reached a fever pitch after he snagged the best actor in a comedy Golden Globe for his portrayal of filmmaker Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist. Franco also received a nomination for best actor at the Screen Actor’s Guild Awards for his role in the film.
Nevertheless, Vanity Fair tweeted a photo of the final cover, sans Franco, with a caption that read, “12 extraordinary stars, one very momentous year.”
The cover was, however, not without its flaws.
Actress Reese Witherspoon and Hollywood super-producer Oprah Winfrey mocked the Vanity Fair cover that, thanks to a photo editing mishap, gave them extra hands and legs.
“Well…I guess everybody knows now…I have 3 legs,” Witherspoon tweeted on Thursday. “I hope you can still accept me for who I am… I will never apologize for snuggling @Oprah .. if you get the opportunity, I highly recommend it.”
“I accept your 3d leg. As I know you accept my 3d hand,” Oprah added in jest.
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