James Franco's Instagram Rant Targets 'Of Mice and Men' Critic
James Franco took to social media while venting his frustrations following a scathing "Of Mice and Men" review this week.
The 36-year-old actor made his Broadway debut on Wednesday, April 16 in "Of Mice and Men." Afterward, a critic for the New York Times, Ben Brantley, reviewed both Franco's performance as well as the play as a whole. Unhappy with Brantley's takeaway, Franco blasted the writer in Instagram in a post which has since been deleted. However, several websites contain screen shots of the actor's diatribe.
"Sadly, Ben Brantley and the NYT have embarassed themselves," Franco began in all caps. "Brantley is such a little b---- he should be working for Gawker.com instead of the paper of record. The theater community hates him, and for good reason. He's an idiot."
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Shortly thereafter, Franco revised the post, omitting the attack on Brantley. Nevertheless, the Instagram post circulated far and wide in cyberspace in the days that followed. The Broadway revival of John Steinbeck's classic tale also stars Chris O'Dowd, Leighton Meester and Jim Norton.
It was not the first time Franco made headlines over his activity on social media. Earlier this month, photos of the actor's text messages with a 17-year-old girl surfaced on Imgur before he appeared on "Live! With Kelly and Michael" offering an apology.
"I'm embarrassed, and I guess I'm just a model of how social media is tricky," he said. "It's a way to meet each other today, but what I've learned is you don't know what's on the other end. I used bad judgement and learned my lesson."
Meanwhile, Brantley has come under siege by celebrities unhappy with his reviews before. Last year, Alec Baldwin posted complaints about the writer over his review of Broadway's "Orphans."
"I think it's time for the Times to get rid of Brantley," the actor wrote in the Huffington Post. "I don't know anyone, anyone at all, who will miss him or his writing."
