James Franco is well aware of the rumors regarding his sexuality -- and he admits the gossip is partly his fault.
Franco recently discussed the gay rumors during an interview with Attitude magazine.
“One of the things that’s very much part of my public image is the question of my sexuality,” he said, according to the U.K.'s Pink News. “It’s not something that bothers me in the slightest. It hasn’t gone away and I get asked about it from all sides. It’s partly my doing and partly not my doing.”
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Franco also mulled over why some choose to stay closeted in Hollywood.
”I think that the people I have known who are performers who haven’t publicly come out didn’t because they’re afraid it’ll hurt their careers. And they’re afraid they won’t be able to play straight roles anymore," he told Attitude, according to PInk News. Adding, "If there’s somebody that was well respected and very secure with their career, I could see it happening in a very positive way.”
This isn't the first time Franco has broached the gay rumors in recent months. While speaking with MTV News in January, the "Oz: The Great and Powerful" actor revealed the homosexual hearsay started in high school. He said he was neither "frightened" by the speculation nor did he care.
The gay rumors certainly didn't stop when Franco rose to stardom. Talk remained steady after he took roles, such as gay rights activist Scott Smith, and debuted his homoerotic film "Interior. Leather Bar." at the Sundance Film Festival.
The 34-year-old offered his most memorable response to the speculation back in 2011.
“It’s funny because the way that kind of stuff is talked about on blogs is so black-and-white,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s all cut-and-dry identity politics. ‘Is he straight or is he gay?’ Or, ‘This is your third gay movie — come out already!’ And all based on, gay or straight, based on the idea that your object of affection decides your sexuality.”
"Part of what I’m interested in is how these people who were living anti-normative lifestyles contended with opposition," he said regarding his choice to play gay roles. "Or, you know what, maybe I’m just gay.”
h/t Pink News for the find.
PHOTO: (Courtesy of Attitude)
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