Music

James Franco mocks Justin Bieber in "Boyfriend" parody

by Aaron Zorgel

Doesn’t James Franco know that #Beliebers have been through enough this week? Amidst 4Chan’s controversial #CutForBieber hashtag hoax, James Franco posted an uncomfortable full-length lip-syncing parody of Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend” to his WhoSay account.

The video was deleted shortly after it was posted, but not before one of Bieber’s minions ripped the footage and re-posted it to YouTube (see above). For this parody, James Franco dons a wig and a baseball hat, and frolics alongside actress (and rumoured Franco girlfriend) Ashley Benson who is also wearing a wig. Things get a little spicy when you realize that both James Franco and Ashley Benson co-star with Selena Gomez in the upcoming Harmony Korine film Spring Breakers.

Ultimately, the whole thing is as awkward as it is unfunny, especially the parts where Benson is humping the ground for no apparent reason. Franco is almost twice Justin Bieber’s age, and this bizarre, unprompted mockery doesn’t paint James in the most flattering light. One can only assume that this is why Franco deleted the video, but as YouTube uploader ilikeselena72 ominously points out, “he deleted it but it was too late.”

This doesn’t change the fact that we’re excited to see Spring Breakers, wherein James Franco portrays a character inspired by oddball rapper RiFF-RAFF, in theaters later this year.